I'm Hooked On All These Feelings
by EvanescentDream93
Summary: Harry knew that in another life, he would have followed her to the edges of the world and beyond...and maybe he would follow her even in this life... A story where in another life, a boy who was born a pirate is now in this life born the son of one of Auradon's greatest heroes. However, even in this life, he still only has eyes for the daughter of a certain sea-witch. Huma AU
1. In Another Life

_Disclaimer: I do not own Descendants._

 **Chapter 1: In Another Life**

The first time Harry saw her, he knew that in another life, he would have followed her to the edges of the world and beyond.

He found it remarkable how such a tiny girl stood out amongst the vibrant and eccentric group of children from the Isle that the prince had brought over. While Ben went on and on, reciting words Harry had heard so many times the days before during his oldest friend's nervous pacing, and while Audrey glared daggers at the daughter of Maleficent, the son of Auradon's most decorated Royal Navy Admiral, Killian Jones (though still fondly known as "Captain Hook" after the devious widely wanted fae-child Pan took one of his hands before his reign of terror on Neverland was put to an end with eternal sleep) was captivated by a scowling girl with braided hair the color of crashing waves who stood apart from the children of Cruella, Jafar, the Evil Queen, and Maleficent, with only the muscled blonde who had been introduced as youngest son of Gaston standing anywhere near her.

All too soon, Ben's introduction speech was over and one hand of Audrey's pink manicured nails were digging into his arms as she locked one of her arms with his and the other with Ben's, expecting to be escorted, as she always had since they were children; escorted by the future High King of the United Stated of Auradon and the future Admiral of the King's Royal Navy. Harry glanced over his shoulder as they led the new transfer students into Auradon Prep, startled when deep brown eyes met with his, pulling him into them, like the moon pulled the tides, promising to drown him in their depths. (And oh how willing he was to drown for her…)

"What are you looking at, Harry?" Audrey hissed pulling his attention back to reality as they passed King Adam's beastly statue and stepped into the school.

"Just the sight of a beautiful lady," he said honestly, giving her a boyish grin that had her both rolling her eyes and blushing before turning her attention back to Ben who seemed to be failing as well to keep his eyes off of a certain daughter of Maleficent. (It wasn't a lie. Audrey, as expected, had just assumed he meant her, harmless flirt that he was.)

As the son of Dopey was introduced, Audrey and the daughter of Maleficent glared daggers back at each other, Ben trying to keep the delicate peace while the other children of the Isle poked and prodded around their new surroundings. Harry tried to be discreet as he watched the daughter of Ursula look around with what appeared to be boredom at everything the son of Gaston excitedly pointed at, her voice low as she murmured something back that the boy listened to, confusion clearly on his face before he chuckled, startling the De Vil boy once again into the arms of Jafar's son. Harry wanted to know what she had said that was so funny, to have her gaze on him once again. To be the one to make her laugh...

Sharp brown eyes once again connected with his and it was then that Harry knew. He knew that in another life, he would have followed her to the edges of the world and beyond. And as Audrey pulled him and Ben away in a huff, leaving Doug to take over the task of giving these children of villains the remaining tour of the school, he caught a glimpse of a wicked little smirk that was quickly hidden by the cover of teal and white braids and that's when he really knew: He would follow Uma of the Isle, daughter of Ursula to the edges of the earth and beyond even in this life as well...

 ** _I'M HOOKED ON ALL THESE FEELINGS_**

She wouldn't lie (for once), he was quite a looker with his sharp jawline and bright blue eyes that were the color that she always imagined the sea to be before she left the Isle: expressive and not to be underestimated.

However, though she usually wouldn't mind (usually would actually enjoy) the way Mal's face twisted into some mix of disgust and constipation every time he came around with some pitiful excuse or another to talk to Ursula's bastard daughter, Uma hated the way he looked at her, hated how he looked like he's actually interested in the words that come from the mouth of a pathetic sea-witch's daughter. (Not even Gil was that attentive to her and they had been friends since Uma saved him from drowning when they were six. His brothers had thought it would be funny to tie cement bricks to his feet before pushing him into the deep water near the docks. "His name is Gil! Shouldn't he be able to swim with the fishes?" they had cackled after the young girl had dragged the slightly bigger boy back onto the docks, seaweed clinging to her hair.)

And most importantly, and this was probably the most crucial reason why Uma of the Isle hated the son of the famous "Captain Hook" so much: the way he says her name, like he's uttering something precious, like it's something that should be remembered and cherished when even her own mother can't remember her only daughter's name half the time…

She hated it. She hated him. And she hated herself because she knows those are all lies she tells herself because she can't imagine...can't allow someone to get that close to her after Mal's betrayal…

"Hey! Stop dreaming about Sailor Pretty Boy and pay attention, Shrimpy!" Mal hissed, bringing Uma crashing back to cruel reality, located in the dorm room that Carlos, Jay, and Gil shared.

Gil gave her a worried look once Mal rolled her eyes returned back to going over the plan of getting the wand. Well...the newest plan. The first attempt had failed at the museum and though Mal had apparently lowered the defensives of Fairy Godmother's painfully shy daughter, not much headway had been made in the two weeks that they had been stuck in Auradon with no wand to show their parents.

"This is ridiculous," Uma sighed softly under her breath.

"I'm sorry," Mal suddenly stopped once again, arms crossed over her chest. "Am I boring you, Shrimpy? Got something better to do, Shrimpy?"

"Yes," she wanted to say but Uma wasn't stupid. Despite the bad blood between her and Mal, there was strength in numbers and here, on the other side of the barrier, she would rather trust the devil she knew than the sparkly pastel colored devils with too bright smiles here. "I was just thinking about that silly little princess that's always clinging onto the prince. How ridiculous it is that she could ever think she be any good at being queen."

Jay's face is unreadable, sizing her up as he stood in his best intimidating pose next to Mal, prepared to move at the girl's order; Carlos head is tilted, nose scrunched up as if Uma's an equation he's not sure what to do with just yet, hands fiddling nervously with a cell phone Jay had stolen for him to take apart and put back together; Evie is biting her lip, still fresh from being Castle-schooled, not completely accustomed to hiding her thoughts, her anxiety, how much she actually likes it here; and Mal is looking down at Uma as if she just stepped into the shit of the dog that now followed Carlos around.

Luckily, even when he was unintentionally trying, Gil always came through for Uma as a loud growling sound was heard. "Uh...is it time for dinner, now?" he asked.

Mal sighed, massaging her temples before making a shooing motion with her hand that was all the permission Uma needed to take Gil's wrist and drag him out of the room as if a dragon was just behind them (and technically, there was).

Once outside of the dorms and outside where the day was slowly bleeding out, Uma let out a relieved sigh, letting go of Gil. "Go on, get your dinner," she nodded towards the dining hall that wasn't too far off.

"You're not coming?" he asked confused, not understanding how anyone could pass up the endless buffet of food that the school provided. "We don't have to sit with Mal and the others if you don't want to," he said partially reading her correctly, something that Uma greatly appreciated though she would never acknowledge it out right to him. But Mal and her crew weren't the only one she was trying to avoid in the dining hall.

"Nah," Uma murmured, shaking her head. "Part of your angle of this stupid plan is to get close to the cheerleaders and the Tourney players with Jay and Carlos to see if they know of a way to get the wand. I'll just put people off with the shrimp smell," she sighed waving her hand in the direction of her braided hair that sometimes, at the most randomest of times, still gave off a shrimpy odor despite how many times she had washed it with any hair products she and Gil could manage to find.

Gil looked as if he was going to try for the umpteenth time to convince her that the smell wasn't bad, that it was honestly hardly noticeable, but the growling of his stomach and the glare that his friend gave him left no room for argument.

"I'll save you something," he gave a little grin over his shoulder as he turned towards the dinning hall. "Meet you later at our spot in the book house?"

Uma bit her lip, trying to hold back a laugh. "You mean our spot in the library? Yeah. I'll be there working on both of our essays."

Gil grinned, walking backwards and giving her a thumbs up before he turned back around and jogged towards where food was.

Uma sighed, shouldering her bag she thankfully remembered to snag as they made their escape from the others and about to turn towards the direction of the library before a taller figure saddled from out of the shadows up close to her, sliding her bag off of her shoulder effortlessly and onto his. Uma didn't even blink. Afterall, he had been doing chivalrous crap like this basically since she stepped foot in Auradon. She should have been upset that he found her so predictable to know that she would try to avoid going to the dining hall just so they wouldn't run into each other. There were a lot of things that Uma should be doing at the moment to get away with him, to not form connections with someone she was going to ultimately betray once they got the wand, but right now, as Harry "Hook" Jones's hand lifted her hand to his lips in a greeting that felt so natural to them both - expressive eyes that held wonder, mischief, and unfounded adoration never leaving hers - all those things were forgotten.

There were no thoughts of Mal or wands or drunk mothers who would never be satisfied. All that was there was a girl and a boy and the storm that was brewing stronger and stronger between them. So strong that Uma thought she would never be able to breathe again...

"What kept ya so long, darlin'?"

(And oddly, Uma was perfectly fine with that.)

* * *

And the Huma plot bunnies strike again! Story title from the song "Feelings" by Haley Kiyoko that I've been playing non-stop for days now.

Okay, so this was a prompt originally given to me by an anon on Tumblr (edream93). I really liked the idea and wanted to expand on it and thus...here we are. For those who are patiently waiting for an update for my other Huma story "We'll Light the Fuse", don't worry, that will be updated soon and this little side project should hopefully be done before the end of this year (or so I hope). I'm thinking 2 or 3 more chapters.

Anyway, I would love to know what you think of this story so far! (Also, I know nothing about Navy rankings and just did a quick search for highest Navy ranking so if that's not an Admiral, please let me know.


	2. Drowning In You

**Chapter 2: Drowning In You**

The sun shined down on the picturesque view of Auradon Prep students enjoying their day off from classes. Sitting on the bleachers, Uma tried to tune out the Tourney team's coaches loud yells and whistleblowing as the group of boys ran drills. She pushed up the sunglasses that she had found (stolen) back further up her nose as she allowed herself to soak up the sun's rays.

"And you're sure this'll work?" a timid voice asked next to her.

Uma spared a glance over to her side causing the pastel colored princess next to her shift nervously as she gazed at him over the rims of her glasses.

"Well, it's no love potion,but it'll definitely give you a bit a luck and confidence to help raise the odds in your favor with asking out whatever pretty face has caught your attention," Uma shrugged turning her gaze back to the sidelines of the Tourney field where Gil was waving happily up at her from where he stood amongst the other cheerleaders. Uma gave a slight nod of acknowledgment which seemed to satisfy the boy before he began to talk excitedly with some other cheerleader. Audrey, who had apparently made it her mission to watch all the Isle kids scowled up at her from her place near Gil before shouting instructions at the others around her to get into position.

Uma rolled her eyes, glad that for the most part, Audrey focused most of her attention on Mal.

"O-okay. How much do I owe you?" the princess asked, drawing the sea-witch's attention back to him.

"Not much," Uma shrugged again, nonchalantly, moving her braids over her shoulder. "Just your voice."

Biting her lip to hold back a laugh, Uma watched as the girl nearly toppled out of her seat, looking extremely pale.

"Kidding!" she plastered on a sickening sweet smile on her face. "Just kidding. It'll be ten-fifty, angelfish."

The girl smiled awkwardly, handing over the money before quickly scampering away, a small bottle in her hand.

Uma sighed, smile quickly melting on her face as she flopped back into her seat, tucking the cash into her boot.

If she sold a dozen or so more of her "luck in a bottle" - which was mostly just boiled sandalwood, ginger, and a few other nice smelling things Gil had managed to find (These idiots would believe anything you gave them when you had a mother who was infamous for her potions) - then she would be able to get one way bus tickets for herself and Gil to the furthest kingdom from Auradon. Shit was going to hit the fan, whether or not Mal and her crew got the wand and she wanted to make sure she was far far away from it all.

She was nearly all packed up and ready to go to what was quickly becoming her corner in the library when she heard a now familiar voice shout out her voice from the field. Uma refused to acknowledge him, making her way quickly down the bleachers, ignoring the way she felt his gaze burning on her back.

The sea witch's daughter had just made a few steps away from the bleachers when she heard the sound of someone running after her.

"Uma!" Harry jogged up next to her, slightly out of breath but sporting his usual boyish grin.

"You know," Uma began, never slowing down. "Maybe this is a cultural difference but I'm pretty sure you're stalking me."

Harry snorted, gently grabbing her hand and placing another one of his too gentle, too passion filled kisses on her hand as he always did in greeting. "I'm sure a beautiful lass such as yourself is used to men, and perhaps even women, chasing after your affection, darling."

Uma paused, unbeckoned memories right after Mal's betrayal coming to mind, when people thought she was too weak and too defenseless to slash at their throats with a rusty kitchen knife of her mother's. She had shown them.

Removing her hand from his grip, with an expressionless mask, Uma asked, "So that gives people the right to invade my space and do what they want with me? Because I'm a _beautiful lass_?"

The boy took a step back, as if he was slapped before his face contorted into rage, something that Uma had never thought was possible for a person born in Auradon to make. She should have been scared but something within her told her that his rage wasn't directed towards her. (And it would never be.)

"Uma," his voice was firm, the accent he tried to hide growing heavy. "If I am bothering ye, then I'll stop. Ye won't see neither hide nor hair of me. I never meant-"

She put a hand firmly against his chest, stopping his rant. She should just say, "Yes, go away", knowing that he would keep his word and leaving her with one less thing for Mal to nag on her about. No good came from the son of Auradon's most celebrated and decorated hero taking an interest in the sea witch's unwanted daughter. After all, no matter how his attentiveness made her feel like she was riding the crests of the tides, he would always be seen as a hero and she, a villain.

She was going to say that, to hiss and curse at his name, at people like his father who were the reason why her mother and everyone else's parents were revived and forced onto the Isle. Why she had grown up not knowing her heritage or how she wasn't given a chance to be seen as anything more than a sea witch's daughter or Mal's favorite punching bag.

"Stay," her traitorous mouth uttered surprising both herself and the boy across from her.

"Stay?" he questioned, hesitant hope found in the corners of his mouth ( _No, no, stop thinking about how soft his lips look_ , she mentally scolded herself).

Uma of the Isle rolled her eyes, a mischievous look in her eye as she grabbed the front of his jersey, tugging him firmly in front of her, ignoring the way that at this close distance she saw his gaze briefly linger on her lips and the butterflies it gave her.

"If you're not afraid of the big bad sea witch stealing your voice," she smirked.

A deep chuckle escaped his chest before he smoothly went into a kneel, taking her hand once again. Though his rage has passed, his voice was lulling in its unfiltered gruffness. She found she preferred it that way, wild and passionate, just like him.

"Well seeing as yer ma is safely behind a barrier and I only see a beautiful goddess before me," he murmured, kissing her fingers almost reverently to the point where Uma forgot to breathe. "I'll take my chances," he winked up at her.

Unaware to the two, eyes were watching them. One of an untrusting princess afraid that history would repeat itself and villains would once again reign. Two other pairs of eyes looked worriedly between each other on the Tourney field, wondering who would be the one to tell a certain half-fae of this new development...

 ** _HOATF_**

"Audrey says she's bad news."

"You'll have to be a bit less vague as to who you're referring to, little sister of mine," Harry murmured into his phone. "Audrey says a lot of people are bad news, including you." He kicked off his shoes and flopped back onto his bed.

Practice had finished hours ago and he had just returned from a small sailing adventure with one of Auradon Prep's newest residents.

 _"You've lived amongst pirates, some of whom despite their morals were the best sailors of their time and they_ ** _didn't_** _teach ye anything about sailing?" Harry had questioned incredulously. She had told him that she had lived on the side of the Isle amongst the wharfs and pirate ships, many belonging to scoundrels such as Barbossa and Blackbeard._

 _"Oh, some of them taught me_ ** _many_** _things," Uma said with a casual flip of her braids over her shoulder that momentarily distracted him as he watched how the sun highlighted the blues and the greens and the white in her hair. His head snapped up at her though when he finally processed her words. She laughed, flicking his nose before leaning back into the sun warmed patch of field that they had found, away from the hustle and bustle and curious and always watching eyes of their classmates. "Harry, chill. They only taught me how to fend for myself. My mother may not give a shit about me but some of those pirates prayed to Poseidon, her father, before they were stuck on the Isle and are a superstitious lot. They might pillage and steal but they do have a Code." She closed her eyes. "Besides, pirates were the last things I had to worry about on the Isle. Traitorous dragons on the other hand..." she sighed trailing off and he saw the way she clenched her fist tightly._

 _He wanted to ask her more, to know everything about her, but very early on he realized that if she wanted to tell him something, she would on her own time. He remembered when Audrey or Chad would withhold information from him when he was younger and how they always ended in a shouting match due to Harry's quick fuse. But with Uma, though he still didn't like it, he followed her lead._

 _"Well," he sighed getting to his feet. "We'll need to change that."_

 _"Change what?" Uma questioned opening her eyes to see Harry standing above her with a mischievous look of his own as he extended a hand down to her._

 _Tugging her to her feet, Harry grinned when she stumbled slightly into him. He gave her a devilish grin, which she rolled her eyes at but didn't push away from him. "Well, can't have a lovely sea goddess who doesn't know how to sail. What kind of man would her sailor be if he didn't help her fix that?"_

 _He watched as Uma looked thoughtfully into his eyes, searching for something. After a moment, she stepped back with a soft smirk, something that he knew was filled with vulnerability rarely shown._

 _"Teach me then. So that there will always be winds in your sails," she spoke softly, power in her words. Unintentional magic, but magic all the same._

 _A goddess's blessing._

"Harry!"

The boy snapped out of his thoughts suddenly, hearing Calista Jane, or CJ as she preferred to be called, practically fume on the other side of the phone. (She hated to be ignored, even for a second.)

"The Isle girl," his sister sighed frustratedly. "The one you're smitten with and apparently daydreaming about in the middle of phone calls, dear brother. And don't try to deny it. I'll call and badger Ben or Jane for info. They'll both sing like canaries, those two."

The boy scrubbed his face tiredly. Though he loved his younger sister dearly, Calista Jane was already tiring him and he had only been on the phone with her for a moment. At least it wasn't Harriet. (Seven seas, if it was Harriet this would have been much, much worse, he knew.)

"Manners, ya little fairy," he chidded. "You're still in trouble for badgering them when they wouldn't tell you what I got you for birthday gift. And the _Isle girl_ has a name you know."

"And I'm waiting for you to tell me it. Come on, I'm all on bated breath and everything. Your attempts to seriously woo anyone will surely bring laughter to my ever so dull life," CJ drawled dramatically on the other line before breaking out into giggles.

Harry had to pity her. Both of his sisters had been homeschooled back on Neverland, though they came to the mainland often enough. Harry, as his father's heir had been sent off to Auradon Prep a decision that he still wasn't sure how he felt about.

"Always know how to boost a man's self-esteem, don't you, Callie?" he groaned, waiting for his sister's gigglings to subside.

"S-so," CJ finally said, calming down. "What's her name?"

Harry closed his eyes, unaware of the little smile that played on his lips as he thought of her. "Uma," he breathed reverently, his mind calling up deep brown eyes and presence that could be as calm or as fearsome as the sea.

"Geez, you really do have it bad," CJ laughed always perceptive of his emotions. And Harry would fully admit he did.

As soon as she had stepped out of the limo from the Isle, he was fascinated by her, pulled to her like the moon pulled the tides. She wasn't anything like what he had been warned she would be like by the adults, the heroes who didn't even know Uma but only knew her mother, Ursula.

She was a sarcastic lass with a sharp tongue and even sharper kitchen knife (he had learned that last bit when Chad had tried to flirt with Uma to get her Chemistry answers a few weeks ago. Harry wished he had recorded it. Chad nearly peed himself).

But Harry also knew that Uma, despite her cool exterior, was passionate and protective of those she deemed worthy. He had watched as she spent hours searching the library for books on how to help Gil with his reading difficulties so that no one here could look down at him. Watched as she fretted over him when he had a slight cold a week ago (he had initially thought her worry was hilarious until Gil had clued him, in that unassuming way that he always did, that many died from colds on the Isle).

And he watched (and hated) as that vibrant personality of hers dimmed in Mal's presence. (Harry loved Ben like a brother but the other boy was too damn naive and smitten himself with Maleficent's daughter, despite already being taken with Audrey. Why, even bother when the Mal sneered at him like she had stepped in something a dog left behind? Harry never really liked being in the same place with her for too long.)

"Is she, ya know, _the_ girl? The one you've been dreaming about for years?"

Harry pushed himself up from his bed, needing to move, bare feet padding back and forth in front of his window.

"Now don't go bringing that up, Callie," he sighed trying not to think about the dreams he had since he was wee lad but it was already too late.

There had been dreams where all he heard was a haunting voice, demanding, urging, pleading for him to say something, a specific something that in his dream he knew and proclaimed with reverence but when he woke up he could never remember. There were some dreams where all he could hear was her crying, his heart breaking at the sound, at not being able to comfort her. Those dreams he hated the most because he would often awaken to find strange bruises around his wrist, torso, and sometimes even around his neck like something long and flexible had been trying to squeeze the life out of him. (He had remembered the first time he had that dream, he had been six and it had taken Harriet hours to calm him down and reassure that it was nothing more than just a night terror.) And then, recently, there were some dreams where he was embraced by warmth, by her. He would feel a calming hand run through his hair, soft lips pressed to his cheek, his eyes, his jaw and neck, and then finally they would press against his lips and he felt like he was drowning in her with no regrets... (It was often horrible when he had those dreams at home where Harriet and CJ could walk in without warning. They would never stop laughing if they saw how...aroused a simple dream could make him.)

Harry leaned his forehead against the glass of his window thoughtfully, his frown melting away into a wistful look when he caught sight of a familiar teal head making her way to the dorms from the dining halls where had last seen her. His gaze followed her until he saw her safely enter the dorms, Gil trailing, as always, happily behind her.

"Maybe," he finally supplied. "But she's more than just a dream...She's...she's...real."

CJ made a snorting noise, but thankfully didn't comment picking up the tender and soft qualities in her brother's tone. However, she asked something worse, something that Harry had been trying not to think about despite it's approaching date.

"So, are you going to introduce your little Isle girlfriend to father and Harriet when we come to Family Day?"

* * *

Hello everyone! Thank you for the amazing feedback, likes, favorites, and subscriptions in the last chapter. I'm so excited that people are interested in this story and I hope you all continue to enjoy it and let me know what you think of it so far.

Anway, I don't really have much to say other than you're all amazing and I really appreciate your support. If you haven't already, please check out my other Huma story, "We'll Light the Fuse" which was just updated about a week ago.

Thank you again and until next time!


	3. Oh Shell No!

**Chapter 3: Oh Shell No!**

Uma was not a morning person, but often having to be the one to open and close her mother's shop trained her body rise before the sun's first light even touched land. On the Isle, Uma thought it was a curse. Here in Auradon, as she silently dressed, making sure to wake neither the sleeping beauty nor the sleeping dragon, Uma thought of it as her saving grace. Though they may share the same mission of obtaining the wand, that did not mean that Uma wanted to be in their presence any longer than she had to be.

Uma grabbed her bag, ignoring the beautifully stitched together turquoise dyed jacket that Evie had presented to her weeks ago. The olive branch of a gift was still wrapped in the dark blue gift bag it had been given in. Instead, Uma reached for the almost threadbare brown jacket she had taken from Gil after his first growth spurt years ago. Even though it had been years since the boy had been able to fit it, it still managed to dwarf her small frame and stop just a few inches above her knees and the sleeves always needed to be rolled up twice to not cover her hands.

Once Uma had successfully made it out of the dorms, she immediately began to make her way to the library, one of the few places on campus that would be open this early. It wasn't the most exciting place to be, but it was quiet and no one really bothered her there. It was a place where she could just enjoy the serene silence that could never really be found on the Isle. That was _one_ thing she liked about Auradon, she supposed. If she searched for it, there were moments where it was easy for her to forget that she wasn't the only person in the world. That she wasn't the daughter of the most feared sea witch in existence.

The library made it easy to forget that Mal was breathing down her back to come up with ideas to steal the wand, asking question after question about why Hook's son was always around her. It was easy to forget that Audrey was watching each of them like a hawk, just waiting for them to slip up so she could run to that overstuffed Fairy Godmother and send them all on a one way trip back to the Isle. And most importantly, it was easy to forget that the last thing her mother had said to her before sending her here, wasn't even a grudging goodbye but a warning:

 _"Once you get there, you better take out Maleficent's brat, get the wand, and take down the barrier so I can finally get revenge on that foolish Triton and the rest of those fools of Auradon! But, if you fail, do me a favor",_ Ursula had hissed, pulling her briefly away from the limo and shoving a small vile into Uma's hand that she instantly without looking knew was poison from Yzma's shop, _" and turn into seafoam so I never have to see your worthless pathetic face again!"_

Though Uma had sixteen years of her mother's verbal and physical abuse as evidence to prove that she shouldn't be surprised, it still hurt to know her own mother would rather want her dead than have her fail.

Uma huffed at the thought, hands going up to collar of her jacket to keep out the early morning chill. She paused when her hand brushed against the warm chain around her neck. Alone with only her thoughts, Uma couldn't help but let a silly little smile twist her lips up as she pulled the chain and the object attached out from underneath her shirt. In her hand was a small blue and green conch shell with some splatterings of gold that created unique patterns along the smooth surface that she had been given the other day when she was with Harry.

 _"Pixie dust_ ," _Harry murmured close to her, pointing out the gold splatterings on the smooth surface just before much larger, warmer, and callous hands gently placed the small trinket into her hand._

 _Uma lifted the shell up into the light, dazzled by how the shell made rainbow colors dance across her skin in._

 _"Pretty, isn't it?" Harry grinned next to her, enjoying the breeze from the lake as the sail boat they were in rocked gently on the water. It wasn't anything like sailing on the sea but the coast was about three hours away, too far for last minute sailing._ Another day, _he thought already planning a sailing adventure that she would sure to enjoy._

 _Uma nodded, still entranced by the patterns the shell made. "I didn't even know these existed."_

 _Harry stretched his arms above his head before smoothly placing his arm around her shoulders. Uma snorted at the contact but didn't push him away, leaning into him slightly as he explained the process that led to pixie shells._

 _"Long before Benny-Boy's dad and Fairy Godmother placed restrictions on magic and created the bridge between Neverland and the mainland, excess pixie dust from the fairies' deposit in Pixie Hollow would run into the rivers," Harry explained, watching the way her hardened mask melted away into a look of wonder. "Eventually, it would trickle out into the water surrounding the island and embed itself into the shells in the surrounding seabed. Doesn't happen to all shells though nobody knows why. Part of the reason they're so rare. Not even those on Neverland can get ahold of them easily."_

 _Uma hummed softly, absentmindedly playing with the thin chain that was attached to the shell. "Then how did you get this one? Steal? Flirt with one of Neverland's pretty little mermaids to get you one?"_

 _Harry snorted. "Ye've never met a Neverland mermaid if yer callin' em pretty. This," he said taking the necklace away from her only to unclasp it and put it around her neck. For a brief moment, Uma felt weightless, her attention on his little lopsided grin and how she liked it better than his cocky overconfident one he usually wore around others. "This belonged to my mother."_

 _Suddenly, the weightless feeling was gone and Uma pulled away from him, protest on her tongue as she reached to take off the necklace but something stopped her. She looked down and found that he had laced their fingers together._

 _"Keep it. Never-shells are for protecting," he said raising both of her hands to his lips to press lingering kisses to their intertwined fingers._

 _She pushed him away with a frown set deep on her lips, storms brewing in her eyes. "I'm not some pastel pink princess needing to be saved. I don't need_ you _to save me."_

 _Harry chortled, getting up, but not before tugging her braid teasingly. "Ye must not have heard of my sisters if you think that's the type of lass I'd seriously court." He grinned to himself, adjusting the sails, when he saw how her cheeks darkened at his not so sly admission. (He considered it a good sign that she didn't seem repulsed by the idea of him courting her.) "I'm not doubting that ye can take care of yourself. I've seen ye sneak into the gym after hours and work on yer swordplay with Gil. Anyone would be a right fool to underestimate ye."_

 _"Still though," Uma insisted, ignoring her warm cheeks and getting up to her feet to adjust the rudder as he had taught her an hour or so before. "I can't accept some dead woman's jewelry I've never even met." The '_ I can't take the only thing you have of her,' _was left unspoken though understood._

 _"Well you're wearing your ma's necklace," Harry pointed out, nodding towards her mother's old necklace. "So technically you're already wearing some dead woman's jewelry."_

 _Crossing her arms, Uma did not look amused._

 _"Okay, okay," he held up his hands. "How about this then." He gently took her hands in his, staring intently into her eyes. "Keep the necklace and I'll take it back after ye cheer loudly for me at the Tourney game coming up, where I'll have a little surprise for ya" he winked. "And for a fair exchange, ye can give me something that I'll return back to ye as well."_

 _Though not looking completely pleased with the situation, Uma unhesitatingly reached around her neck and unclasped the necklace that once belonged to her mother. Harry's hands instantly went to her waist to hold her steady as she balanced on the balls of her feet to clasp the necklace around his neck._

 _Harry's fingers dug slightly into her hips as he felt her breath fan onto his cheek. He wanted to bottle this moment and keep it with him until his dying breath._

 _"Fair is fair, I suppose. Don't lose this, sailor," she said softly one hand idly playing with the hair at the back of his neck while the other one placed itself on his rapidly beating heart._

 _He smiled, his forehead leaning against hers as they let the lake gently rock the boat. "Aye, aye, captain."_

The strange fluttering warm feeling in her chest that Uma felt yesterday on the boat still flared up when she thought about him. And surprisingly, it was becoming a little less strange and almost something she looked forward to. Didn't she deserve to be happy for once?

"Looks like someone is having a nice happy thought. Mind sharing?"

Uma nearly jumped, spinning around to come face to face with a grinning thief, leaning against a nearby tree as if he had always been there.

"Jay," she murmured in acknowledgment, making a move to continue on her path when a tanned arm wrapped around her shoulders, steering her away from the library and in another direction. "What are you doing?" Uma frowned though she didn't make too much of a struggle to get out of his hold. At the moment, he wasn't being hostile and they were technically allies in this strange place (though she kept tabs of where his hands were at all times).

"What? Can't go on an early morning stroll with an old friend?" the boy questioned with a grin.

"We're not friends," Uma finally pulled out of his hold but still walked along with him. That seemed to be enough to satisfy him as Jay allowed her to put several inches of space between them.

"Ouch! That hurts Uma!" Jay teased with an overplayed pained expression, his hand gripping tightly at his vest over where his heart was for a few seconds before he broke out into chuckles. Uma rolled her eyes, already fed up with whatever game he was trying to play. Jay may act the part but he wasn't a fool.

"Spit it out! What do you want Jay?" Uma sighed stopping.

Jay stopped as well, his expression serious as he got straight to the point. "What's going on with you and the Hook kid?"

Outwardly, Uma was expressionless. Inside panic began to spread. Possessive whispers in the back of her head growing louder into a chorus of "Mine! Stay away!"

"The same thing that we're all trying to do," she lied smoothly. "Find a way to get the damn wand."

Jay looked at her in that way that she always hated even when they were little, when they could have once considered each other friends, like he was observing her, taking note of every opening in order to get the best steal.

"It wouldn't be surprising if it was Evie but I never expected _you_ to take the seduction route," he circled around her once before stopping, looking as if he was seeing her in a new light. It made Uma uneasy. She really didn't want to be alone with him right now. "You really think Hook can get you to the wand?"

" _No,"_ Uma thought to herself. In all honesty, she had given the wand very little thought, either busy with her potions or...with Harry. But instead she answered, "Yes".

"Really?" Jay murmured, a hint of disbelief in his tone. "Because it looks like you have a soft spot for the guy."

"That's the point," Uma snorted, crossing her arms and praying to anyone listening (maybe her grandfather if he even gave a damn about her) that her voice came out even. "What are you trying to imply?" she snapped.

Jay briefly looked away and for a moment, it looked like he had a pained expression on his face, like he was struggling to say something before he turned back to Uma with his usual smirk.

"Just giving a warning, babe," he winked, moving closer as he reached out, tugging one her braids lightly. Uma's hands turned into fists at her side, trying to hide the way they shook. It wasn't affectionate like when Harry played with her hair. If anything, it made her skin crawl at Jay's close proximity. "You have one day to end whatever you have with lover boy or I tell Mal."

"Is that a threat?" Uma narrowed her eyes, neither noticing how the sky suddenly became darker as the rising sun was covered with ominous looking grey clouds. The forecast had predicted clear sunny skies for the day.

Frowning down at her, Jay's expression was serious and maybe, just a bit apologetic. "It's a warning, Uma. You know you're currently at the bottom of the Isle food chain. But this, this could raise you above all that Shrimpy bullshit. You, even Gil...you would _really_ be one of us again...just like how we used to be."

Thunder and lighting cracked the sky, raining pouring down but neither of the two teens moved for cover. "Like how we used to?" Uma chuckled darkly, eyes hard as the thunder boomed loudly above them. "Like we _fucking_ used to?" she roared highlighted by lightning as she shoved Jay and his hand away from her. "You mean like when my best friend _humiliated_ me and covered me in rotten shrimp?" she asked pushing his shoulders hard, catching the boy slightly off guard with her strength. He wobbled to gain his balance. "You mean like how everyone else, _all_ of my friends and alliances, except for Gil, turned their back on me because they were afraid of some spoiled brat tattling to her mommy? How _you_ just stood there?" She shoved him again, this time making him stumble back and lose his balance where he landed in a muddy puddle.

Despite his completely soiled appearance, Jay looked up at the girl through the rain, his expression bordering pleading. (But that couldn't be right...It was just all part of his game, Uma thought. To make her look weak and gullible like Mal did when they were ten.)

"Uma," Jay said slowly, carefully. "If you're against Mal you've basically put a noose around your neck. Ya gotta think carefully about this. My hands will be tied if you go on like this. There's only so much looking out I can do for you and your sailor and that little side potions business that you haven't really been doing a good job hiding before Mal finds out. Is this pretty boy even worth it?"

Uma sneered down at him. "Don't pretend to look out for me, Jay. Because no one's looking out for me. It's just me. You made your decision when you allowed Mal to torment and humiliate me for the past six years on the Isle. I already know where you stand though," Uma laughed cruelly. "You pathetic little street rat."

Jay's pleading look faded, his face turning hard and unreadable. "One day, Uma. End it," he said getting up to his feet and pushing past her, "before I _let_ Mal end you."

Uma held her ground for several minutes, until she was sure that Jay was no longer around before she fell to her knees, ignoring the mud that began to seep through her jeans, and pretending that it was just the rain that was running down her face.

 _ **IHOATF**_

Harry spent the night after talking to his sister struggling to find sleep. He spent hours into the morning in bed, mind filled with every possible scenario involving Harriet meeting Uma. His father meeting Uma…

He sighed, as he listened to the rain pounding against his window. Memories of the other day sailing with Uma managed to brighten up the gloom of his thoughts. He had just gotten out of his bed, scrubbing tiredly at his face, wondering if he should just get up and try to burn off some restless energy before seeing if his sea goddess had holed herself up in the library again when he heard a knock at his door.

"Harry?"

Instantly, he made his way to the door, nearly tripping over his own feet twice in his haste. When he pulled open the door, he wasn't expecting to see her.

"Mal?"

Maleficent's daughter smiled brightly up at him, twirling a purple lock around her finger. "Hi Harry! Can we talk?"

* * *

Hi everyone! Thank you again for all the favorites, reviews, follows, etc. They're all seriously appreciated and totally make my day.

Not much to say about this one. Because of the holidays, I probably won't be able to update until after new years because I do want to spend some time working on my other Huma story, "We'll Light the Fuse" which you should check out if you already haven't.

In case I don't update until 2018, I just wanted to say happy holidays and thank you for your support in 2017! I hope you can all continue to support me in 2018!

Until next time!


	4. The Yellow Bandana

**Chapter 4: The Yellow Bandana**

 _ **On the Isle, 6 years ago**_

He hadn't been there. Didn't see it in person himself but the rumors that had spread throughout the Isle were so detailed, so vivid that ten year old Gil almost felt like he had been there which seemed so much worse to him than actually being there.

He checked everywhere he could think of. The dilapidated shack of an old pirate long dead that she would stay in any time her mother kicked her out. The rocky patch of the grey beach that she often went to when she was in one of her moods and wanted to be alone. He searched high and low until he finally found her alone in an alley near her mother's shop. He could smell the rotten shrimp even before he got anywhere near her. Luckily enough, LeGume's were made with stomachs of steel. And luckily enough for the girl he found alone and dejected in the alley, this son of Gaston, albeit not the smartest, was extremely loyal to his best friend.

"Go away!" Uma growled, wiping at her red eyes roughly before throwing a nearby empty bottle at him while sending him the nastiest glare she could manage.

Gil managed to easily dodge the bottle, barely batting an eye at the fact that she _actually_ had been aiming for his head.

He got closer to her, frowning at the sudden realization that he never noticed how much shorter and smaller she was compared to him. Sure, Gil had recently gone through a growth spurt but she was tiny, just barely making it up to his chest. Her personality and confidence had just always seemed so large and reliable up until this point. Now...wow...he really couldn't get over how small she looked.

"You have shrimp in your hair," he pointed out reaching out to pull it from her hair. She slapped his hand away hard, taking a step back from him.

"How fucking dumb are you?" Uma yelled at him, kicking a nearby old and rotten crate until it collapsed. "Don't you think I already know that?"

Gil saw that the act of destruction didn't do anything to soothe her anger. Her rage. Her pain.

He felt helpless.

If it was a matter of strength or doing a small errand for her he knew explicitly what to do: he followed her, knowing Uma always was planning something. She was the brains, the beauty, the reason why they had both survived so long on the Isle and he was...well he had the brawn. But brawn was honestly a dime a dozen on the Isle. Replacing him wouldn't be that hard...

"How could she do something like that? I thought we were partners! The baddest of the bad! I thought we were friends!" she cried out angrily shoving a nearby stack of crates, blinking rapidly against the tears in her eyes. Uma earned a yowl from one of Lucifer's many kittens that had been perched on the crate before it jumped onto a nearby low roof, away from the rampaging girl. "Screw you!" she yelled after the cat. Suddenly, she turned her fury towards Gil. "And you! Why the hell are you still here? Where were you? Were you in on this the whole time? Thought it would be funny? Huh? HUH?!" she yelled at the boy," pushing him hard with all her strength with each question.

At his unresponsiveness, her open palmed pushing turned to closed fisted hits that didn't care where they landed.

"Why are you not fighting back!?" she growled angrily, braids flying, when the most he would do was let out a pained grunt. "Come on! Fight me! I'm already at the bottom of this fucking Isle food chain. Come at me!"

Gil shook his head. "No, I don't want to, but you can keep hitting me," he offered quietly, a stark contrast to her anger fueled rant. "My dad usually feels better after he's done that when he has a rough day. You can do it too, if that'll make you feel better. He usually goes until he knocks me out" he said earnestly, his expression showing that he wanted to please her, that he just wanted her to be alright.

Uma stared at him, the fire in her instantly simmering. She looked away from Gil's eager to please face, disgusted with herself. Disgusted with the Isle. Disgusted with Mal and her backstabbing. Disgusted that hearing your friend was a punching bag for his dad wasn't jarring as she knew it would be if they lived off this damn rock.

Uma took a deep breath but nearly gagged on the smell emitting from her hair. "Just...just help me take my braids out so I can watch this gunk out," she murmured turning to head to the back entrance of the Chip Shop. "Then we'll plan ways to get off this damn Isle and leave all these losers to rot behind."

Gil grinned as he followed her, just happy that she was willing to include him in her plans. "Whatever you say, Shrim- I mean Uma!"

Rolling her eyes, Uma led the way and as always since they were six, Gil followed.

 **Auradon, Present**

Coldness, that had nothing to do with the rain soaking into her clothes, sank deep into her bones.

" _If you're against Mal, you've basically put a noose around your neck,"_ Jay's voice taunted her thoughts.

The grey clouds above rolled across the sky with booming thunder and striking lightning as the only witnesses to her fury, her anger...her heartbreak…

" _Fuck Jay. Fuck Mal,"_ she thought with a lump in her throat as she imagined blue eyes as blue as the sea.

Why did the universe seem so intent on taking anything good from her life? Why was it that even amongst the villains she was a loser?

"Uma? Are you alright?" a concerned voice questioned above her just as the rain that had been pelting down on her suddenly stopped.

Jolting where she sat, Uma looked up into the worried too warm, too kind, (too naive) eyes of Prince Ben. A bright Auradon yellow umbrella was held above her head, covering her from the rain while the usually pristine blue and yellow of his suit began to quickly be drenched by the rain.

She didn't answer. Wasn't sure if she should answer, let alone how. Up until this point, Uma had tried to have limited contact with the prince. She avoided him mostly because his pretty in petty pink girlfriend Audrey was always glaring daggers at any of the Isle kids who dared got close to her precious Benny-Boo. However, If Uma was being perfectly honest though, the way that Ben looked at her, looked at all of them, like he could see the potential that her mother always denied her having, made her feel a twisting feeling in her gut that she didn't even want to think of a guilt. (Villains never felt guilt, especially over princes.)

"Uma?" Ben questioned again when she still didn't move let alone respond, eyes filling with more concern when she didn't respond.

"I'm fine," she managed to hoarsely get out, avoiding looking at him in hopes that he wouldn't see how red her eyes were. She needed to get up, to get away from this too bright boy that she would inevitably have to deceive (from this too bright boy she may inevitably even play a role in his death). "You can go now," she hissed, attempting to mask her discomfort when he continued to look at her with unfiltered concern.

Ben's expression showed that he obviously didn't believe her though.

"W-well," he began sounding uncomfortable himself before his face lighted up in thought. "Let me walk you to wherever you were going at least," he smiled easily. "I would be a bad host if I didn't offer you some protection from the rain."

Uma waited. Waited for him to laugh and mock her like she was so used to people on the Isle doing. Her shoulders slumped slightly when she realized that Beasty Boy was actually sincere. "You're as sickeningly good as you look," she sighed, the usual bite in her tone replaced with weariness.

The thunder above rumbled with a rumble of agreement.

Ben chuckled, still holding his umbrella carefully over her head as he gently guided her somewhere else, not seeming to mind at all the way his hair was plastered to his forehead.

"How are you settling into Auradon?" he asked inquisitively. "I haven't really had the opportunity to check up on you since you've arrived and Harry unfortunately likes to keep you all to himself."

Rolling her eyes, Uma crossed her arms over her chest, easily keeping pace with his much longer legs. "Well school sucks but there's less mold on the food here and I haven't had to deal with one of my mother's beatings in weeks so I guess it's not horrible."

She managed to hold back a snicker at the way his smile faltered on his face at her words.

"You're mother beat you?" Ben questioned, looking very awkward.

"It's the Isle, Princey Boy. Everyone's parents either beats them with an extra helping of mentally fuck you up. Besides, a beating you can walk off," she continued, finding some sort of sick fascination in the way his face grew paler. "Starvation and infection unfortunately is a little bit harder when you're living twenty years in a garbage strike, eating whatever you royals throw away." She glared hard at the boy, gaze heavy with blame. "Then again, malnutrition and death probably aren't as regular an occurrence here as it is on the Isle, aren't they?"

"I-I didn't know -" Ben responded. "How is that possible?"

"Because you didn't care to know! I mean who ever thinks about the villains?" Uma cut him off, ready to go off as soon as the first excuse left his mouth. However, the prince surprised her.

"You're right. I didn't," he said honestly. "I never really thought about what life could have been like over there. I don't think anyone here has. But I don't think that's acceptable for anyone, villain or not."

Uma scoffed, choosing to focus on the way that water squished in her shoes than on the way that Prince Ben was looking at her. It was a look that was somewhere between the blind faith that Gil always showed her and the intense genuine interest Harry never failed to give her. It was unnerving seeing the ways the gears were turning in Ben's head but not knowing exactly what he was thinking.

Silence settled thickly between them as Ben walked her around seemingly aimlessly. Not for the first time, Uma wondered how in the Seven Seas she found herself in this awkward situation and if there was any way she could get out of it. She just wanted to change clothes and hide away in the makeshift security of the library. Pretending that Mal didn't exist. That Jay didn't exist. That she didn't have to once again lose what she wanted just to survive in this shitty world.

"You know, you're not afraid to be honest, even with the a future king," Ben grinned brightly once again though the remnants of their previous conversation obviously still weighed on his mind. "Another reason why I suppose Harry likes to spend time with you."

"More like stalking," Uma murmured with no real heat.

"You're important to Harry," he shrugged with a grin growing wider, trying to hide his barely concealed giddiness when her cheeks darkened at his comment. "And I think it's important to vet my fiance's new girlfriend."

Nearly tripping over her feet, Uma quickly spun around to face him, eyes wide.

"FIANCE?!" she snapped. Lightning flashed brightly above followed by a loud thunder clap. Uma ignored the way her heart felt like it was being stomped upon.

Barely a second passed before Ben broke out into laughter. Uma frowned, resisting the urge to stomp hard in the nearby muddy puddle and splash him. Instead she crossed her arms and demanded to know what was so funny.

"Sorry, sorry," Ben apologized, a chuckle or two still escaping. "W-when Harry and I first met we were both really young and I had much longer hair," he explained grin still wide on his face in nostalgia. "When our parents introduced us to each other, Harry apparently thought I was the prettiest girl he had ever seen and proposed to me right on the spot. When our parents had stopped laughing and explained that I was a boy he said just shrugged and said he would have a pretty boy as his husband then."

Something in Uma's chest twinged at the the thought of a little Harry, all wild, wind-swept dark hair and bright blue mischievous eyes taking a confused young prince's hands in his and proclaiming his intent to marry.

"You know you just gave me perfect blackmail material against him," Uma managed to smirk.

"And I hope you put it to good use," Ben winked at her before his expression quickly sobered.

The rain around them seemed to lighten as Uma watched the little twitches his face made as he tried to make up his mind on whatever he was thinking. He was too easy to read, something that she realized she didn't necessarily want to exploit at the moment.

"Listen Uma," the prince sighed, looking at her with such an open and concerned expression she had to look away, fiddling with the sleeve of her rain and mud soaked jacket. "I know we haven't had the chance to talk all that much but Harry never shuts up about you. Actually," he chuckled slightly in thought, "I've never seen him like this with anyone else before. He really cares about you and maybe I shouldn't say this, but he looks at you like...well, like the way I expect a person does when they've found their true love."

"Or maybe it's just gas," Uma hissed, suddenly feeling angry, pushing down the realization that she wanted his words to be true. She wasn't some pretty pink princess. Who was this boy to tell her this? To play with her heart that had been broken and torn and stomped on so many times by crushing tentacles and purple heeled boots and give her something that she had long ago learned to abhor: hope.

The sky that had once seemed to have lighten quickly became dark again.

Ben shook his head. "I'm not lying to you. You're-"

"I'm just a _good time_ , aren't I?" Uma cut him off, moving away from underneath the protection of the umbrella to put some space between them, her glare not letting up even as rained rolled down from her hair to her skin. "Probably placed a bet with you and the rest of you uppity goody-doers."

"Uma," Ben said placing a gentle hand on her arm when she tried to move from underneath the umbrella. Though gentle, his eyes were hard and Uma was hit with realization that her sailor was cared for. People cared about Harry. The prince cared about Harry.

That realization made her both somber and jealous in a way that she had difficulty understanding.

"Harry cares a lot about you. Deeply. He wouldn't have given you his mother's necklace if that was case," he nodded towards where he knew the necklace was hidden underneath her shirt. "His younger sister, CJ, wouldn't be hounding me for details about you if he wasn't head over heels. I mean," he shrugged, letting go of her arm and seeming to struggle to find the right words. "When I look at you both...it just...it just fits. Does that make sense? Like you two were made for each other."

"You're talking about true love aren't ya?" Uma groaned, nose wrinkling in distaste. Love was looked down upon the Isle. Love made you foolish and stupid. That was one thing her mother did teach her. "That shit doesn't exist."

"How can you be so sure?" he said with such a gentle smile that it made Uma nauseous to realize that he was being completely genuine. "I'm...I'm actually really jealous of Harry," Ben continued, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, eyes growing dim for just a moment. "I-I don't think I've ever met anyone who I wholeheartedly wanted to give the moon and stars for."

"Not even with Princess Sleeping Snobby?" Uma found herself asking, somewhat surprised to find that she was genuinely curious about his response.

Ben sighed as if he was reminded of a great burden. "Maybe at one point I think I did," he said smiling at her sadly, a far off look in his eye. "But I'm actually not sure anymore," he sighed before ushering her back under his umbrella. "Sometimes, I feel like the person I'm searching for is only real in my dreams. I mean, I thought- I thought if…" He stopped shaking his head. "Nevermind," he smiled not at all convincingly.

She wanted to ask more, not to exploit him but because she was actually genuinely curious. She noticed, however, like walking out of a fog, that rain was no longer falling around them. This time, they were now inside the boy's dorm, rain continuing to fall as a light sprinkle outside.

"I figured we could ask Harry for some spare towels," Ben grinned down at her, a hint of his previous mischievousness in his eyes before she could stop him from knocking on the door.

They both paused when the door was pushed open on its own. Ben paused, worry evident before suddenly pushing further inside, calling Harry's name, Uma at his heels. She held back a curse though when she bumped into the prince's back when he suddenly stopped.

When she peered around the prince, she immediately wished she hadn't, knowing she would never get the image out of her head of Harry lying on the ground, deathly pale with a familiar yellow bandana clutched in his hand.

 _ **On the Isle, 10 years ago**_

When they were six, when she jumped into the filthy water that surrounded the Isle after his brothers tied him up to the heaviest pieces of cement, she hadn't been trying to save him.

To be brutally honest, she didn't care one clam if one of the few _legitimate_ sons of Gaston drowned or not. There were plenty of Gaston bastards on the Isle to replace the littlest LeGume runt.

However, Mal had dared her to. (Instigated her. Taunted.) The half fae had guessed that the cement would pull the young boy to the deepest of the deep murky depths of the surrounding waters and stated that she didn't believe that Uma was big or strong enough to swim down and retrieve the boy, despite her mer-folk lineage.

" _At least I know how to swim, Dragon Breath,"_ Ursula's daughter had teased in that way that only close companions, friends, could. That way that had no real bite but underlining affection that was only still present in the youngest of the Isle before it was beaten out of them. (Neither of then realized how in four years that nickname would be said as a curse and with the force of a storm threatening to rage on the horizon...)

So Uma swam, barely breaking a sweat as she reached the water's bottom where the youngest son's of Gaston struggles were beginning to slow, gaze growing heavy, the amount of bubbles leaving his mouth diminishing.

For a moment, Uma thought about leaving him and just grabbing the silly yellow bandana he always covered his head with at least for proof that she actually did make it to the bottom of the water. Letting him drown would probably be the nicest thing she could do for the boy, anyway. After all, life on the Isle had no place for one so weak…

She was just about to swim away after grabbing his bandana when a slightly larger hand grasped her own. For a brief second as she looked back at the boy, their eyes met and something that Uma hadn't realized was untied within her knotted.

 _Mine_ , was the only word she could put to the feeling that forced her to cut the ropes of the then once again unconscious boy before kicking her legs with a strength not common in a girl of her size until they broke the water surface.

And as she pulled Gil back to shore, seaweed stuck in her hair and Gil coughing up water along the way, Mal watched from the safety of dry land with narrowed eyes, clenched fists, and raging jealousy held within her tiny frame…

Mal rolled her eyes as she stepped back as Uma dragged the nearly drowned boy onto land, watching as the teal hair girl nearly glowed with smug satisfaction from the boy's praise after he had the chance to cough up all the water.

Mal noticed the boy's signature yellow bandana had been dropped on the wet sand at some point, forgotten by its owner. She picked it up, smiling wickedly to herself as she shoved it in her pocket for a later time.

" _If you can't take it,"_ she thought, continuing to watch as Uma pretended to hate the attention the Gaston boy was giving her. " _Break it…"_

* * *

Hi friends. So...this chapter just didn't want to be written and I just never seemed happy with it. I'm still not completely but I knew that if I didn't get something out then it would probably never be updated. I hope things didn't feel too disconnected.

Thank you as always though to everyone who reviewed, favorited, subscribed, etc. to this story. You all continue to motivate me.

Anyway, somewhat good news. I'm essentially done with applying for PhDs and have been given two offers (yay!) so that's one less thing off my plate so hopefully I'll be able to update this story a bit sooner (no promises).

Anywho please let me know what you think about this chapter.

Until next time!


	5. Stand

**Chapter 5: Stand**

Gil tilted his head to the side, confused. "Shouldn't you be there? With him?"

Uma huffed, pressing her forehead further against the cold hard bars of his prison cell, as if she could force her body to mold around the hard metal keeping her distant from her closest ally (her only friend). "I'm where I need to be," she asserted firmly, aware of the guards that stood just mere feet away.

The _"I'm not leaving you. You never left me,"_ went unspoken but understood as Gil's much larger hand reached through the bars and placed itself on her shoulder and giving it a meaningful squeeze.

(He didn't comment on how he could feel her entire body trembling underneath his touch and her heart felt too big in her chest for this boy.)

"I didn't hurt Harry, Uma," Gil suddenly said earnestly, his grip on her shoulder tightening almost painfully but Uma didn't shrug it off. Who knew when she would be able to see him again. "I swear."

Uma bit her lip, placing both of her hands over his much larger one. She stared momentarily at the size difference. She felt small in more than one way.

"I know, sharkbait," she sighed fondly, thinking of easier days where she taught him how to hold his breath longer underwater and he showed her where to find the few edible plants growing on the Isle. Her mind was whirling with a hundred million thoughts, many in regards to Gil and getting him out of this damn prison cell for a crime that she knew instantly that he didn't commit and many more...many more of her thoughts were on a certain blue eyed sailor.

She hated the twisting feeling in her gut that even now, with Gil's life on the line, her thoughts still swayed to ((not)her) Harry.

"Is he going to be okay?" Gil guessed accurately to where her thoughts had led her. In his eyes all she could see was genuine concern for her. Not for the first time did Uma believe that Gil had been meant to be born somewhere off the Isle. Somewhere where he could have been just as good (or even better) than the Prince.

Thinking about Ben seemed to sour her mood even more though not because of the prince. Uma didn't need to have grown up in Auradon to have known that even the prisons here didn't have heated floors and comfy beds and food that actually tasted like something. And yet, Gil had been given all of this and more. If it wasn't for the bars and the guards, it would have looked like just another dorm room here.

No, Ben surprisingly wasn't the problem. The people around him were. Uma wouldn't be surprised if Audrey or even Cinderella's son, Chad Charming, had sent the guards that had suddenly appeared at the door of Harry's room. Someone had known to send guards that pointed their swords and spears at her throat until Ben had shoved them away ordering them to stand down and get his best friend some medical attention. (The seconds it took for the ends of their pointed tips to finally be directed somewhere else other than at her throat felt long and sluggish, like trying to swallow her mother's codfish surprise.)

By the time the guards that had surrounded her had put away their weapons, one of them that had moved over to feel for a pulse on the unconscious boy's body and noticed the threadbare yellow bandana clutched in his hand.

It didn't take long for the yellow bandana to be linked to Gil. For Fairy Godmother to find traces of magic on it and immediately make calls to Neverland. And though Gil was the one being held in prison, it didn't take long for most of the school to have the seawitch's daughter's name on their lips. After all, Gil was the son of Gaston, a bullheaded, sexist huntsman; Uma was the daughter of Ursula, a name that still put fear in many sailor and land lover alike. Someone had to be the brains, and very few people considered Gil capable of that.

Still struggling to come up with a response, Uma was cut off when one of the guards stiffly announced that their time was up. Uma glared at the guard, irritated when he only raised a brow impatience radiating off of him.

She turned back to Gil, his expression bright and hopeful and so sure of everything, of _her,_ that she would make everything right. Faithful to Ursula's unfortunate brat even to the end.

(She didn't deserve his loyalty.)

"I'll be back. And I _will_ get you out of here," Uma vowed before the guard ushered her off.

"I know," Gil whispered back more to himself, confident smile never slipping. He knew that she would always keep his promise to him.

Even if she had to make the whole world drown first.

 _ **IHOATF**_

To be fair to her earlier conversation with Gil, she didn't know how ((not)her) Harry was doing. Except for Ben, whom she rarely saw usually, no one either knew or would tell her how ((not)her) Harry was doing. All she had managed to snatch amongst the whispers down the hall of Auradon Prep was that his younger sister was the only one on her way to see him.

After an agonizingly long day of waiting and biding her time under the watchful eyes of both Fairy Godmother and Mal, Uma snuck from her dorm, across the sleeping campus, and down the long hall where the infirmary was, slipping easily through the unlocked doors.

"So you're his Isle Dream Girl."

Uma cursed herself, back still towards the room as she had been trying to silently close the door to what she had thought would be an empty infirmary.

Apparently she had thought wrong.

Knowing she was caught, Uma squared her shoulders as she turned around.

The room was dark, lit only by the moon's soft light, casting everything in a pale blue tone. There were several made up empty beds with pristine white sheets that probably never saw an innocent child bleeding out on them. These beds had probably never seen a person waste away without proper food or water, sentenced to death due to a fever that just wouldn't break without the proper medication that the Isle rarely had.

Though these infirmary beds hadn't seen as much blood and death as Uma had seen on the Isle, they were witness to the unmoving figure of a certain unconscious sailor. (((Not)her) Harry. ((Not)her) Harry. ((Not)her)Harry.)

Uma found her feet rooted to the spot by the door, unable to take her eyes from Harry's unmoving form, praying to Poseidon that his eyes would just open. His face was smooth and neutral, an odd sight on the otherwise usually expressive features. The light of the moon bleached his skin a pale white, highlighting the dark circles under his closed eyes that had not been there the last time she had seen him. If it wasn't for the slow but even rise and fall of his chest, Uma would have thought he was already dead.

"Geez. Gross. You're just _as_ obsessed with him," the voice jarred Uma out of her thoughts and brought her attention to the small blonde girl that set next to the bed. The tired but mischievous smirk on her face instantly gave away the girl's identity (afterall, Uma had become quite familiar with the cheeky expression since arriving in Auradon). Somewhere in the back of her mind, Uma noticed the soft full leather gloves that covered CJ's hands all the way up to her elbows.

"You're CJ," Uma hazard a guess, recalling Harry's description of his younger sister. Bright. Expressive. Wild.

"Oh!" the girl clapped excitedly. "You two _do_ do something other than suck face all day!"

Uma sputtered out a denial to the unexpected statement. (Her cheeks were not growing warm at the mental image of her lips on his. They were not!)

She watched CJ chuckle briefly at her expense before the sound died off, the girl looking sadly down at her brother when he didn't respond with his usual fond but exasperated growl of "Cheeky fairy" or flustered pink cheeks. It somehow felt wrong to Uma for such a frank girl to be so somber.

Ursula's daughter found herself slowly making her way to the other side of the bed, hand itching to take ((not)her) Harry's. For his hand to lift hers up to his lips in a devoted kiss. Instead she crossed her arms resisting the urge in front of this girl that she only knew threw fond whispers on a gently rocking boat.

The room felt too quiet.

"I just wanted to see him," Uma explained, feeling the need to say something. "No one would tell me…" she trailed off awkwardly, realizing that the younger girl's intense gaze was on her. She looked away, unnerved by being so openly observed. "Ugh...I should go," she quickly muttered already beginning to make her retreat when CJ spoke out to her.

"It's a magic intolerance."

Pausing, hand having just reached the infirmary's door, Uma frowned, puzzled, as she turned around. CJ was no longer looking at her but was back to looking at her brother's unconscious form, her gloved hand holding his limp one.

"That's why he's like this," CJ clarified. "That's why daddy sent him off to live with Ben and his family when we were younger. It's rare and places and people that have strong concentration of magic, like Neverland, always make him feel really tired, disoriented, and out of control." Chuckling tiredly, CJ got out of her seat, gently placing his hand back by his side before leaning against the side of a nearby window, looking out unseeingly. "He described it like going mad or being lost in an endless sea without a compass."

Uma frown deepened. "He never told me."

CJ snorted, looking at her from the corner of her eye before glancing back at the window. "Of course he wouldn't. Prideful lad, my thick headed brother is."

Chuckling awkwardly, Uma allowed herself to return back to ( _her_ ) Harry's bed side, this time allowing her hand to reach out for his, her thumb rubbing soothing circles against his knuckles. (For a second, she had tricked herself into believing that his fingers had given the barest of twitches in her hand but that must have just been wishful thinking.)

 _Wake up_ , she pleaded with him silently.

CJ had observed the familiarity to which this girl took her brother's hand with an air of curiosity and slight surprise, as if she had expected something different. "You've never seen him like this, have you?"

"No," Uma shook her head, using her other hand to swipe hair from his face, fingertips lingering over the sharp lines of his cheekbones. "I think this is the most still I've ever seen him."

"That bandanna that he was holding must have had an impressive amount of magic packed into it."

Uma looked up at her. "Do you...Does anyone know what it was for? Or who sent it?"

CJ was silent for a second before answering with a "No. All Fairy Godmother told me was that it was messily done. If it had done what it was intended to do, I think we would have met over a hole in a ground," she chuckled humorlessly. "Not this bed. So thank the Second Star for small miracles, I guess."

As one used to seeing so much death, Uma didn't know how to respond in a way that wouldn't feel like she was fucking things up.

The room filled with silence once again.

"It wasn't you," CJ suddenly said after a few minutes.

This time Uma snorted. "What? You don't think that the evil sea-witch's daughter had the guts to do this? Not evil enough for you?" she asked with a bitter laugh, the haunting memory of "Shrimpy" clinging to her like a cumbersome veil.

CJ spun quickly from her spot by the window, moving with such swiftness that was surprising even for a girl of her small stature. "I could give two ticking crocodiles whether you're evil or not," CJ hissed invading Uma's space. "What I care about is whether my brother will wake up and if an evil sea-witch's daughter is what it takes to make that happen then so be it!"

Uma let go of Harry's hand. "All of my potions are fake. They don't work."

Stomping her foot, face red, CJ said something that came out like the chiming of small bells. Taking a deep breath, CJ unconsciously tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, revealing its pointed tip. Uma did everything in her power to keep her face neutral; knew that Harry and his sisters had different mothers and that it wasn't unusual for a fairy and a human to have children but it was still jarring to see a half-fairy that didn't have purple hair and a perpetually scowling expression directed towards her.

"You may not know how to use it but you do have magic. Strong magic," the blonde said slowly as if she was choosing her words carefully. "If you didn't," she said turning to Harry and pushing down the collar of the light blue hospital gown that he wore revealing Ursula's necklace glowing a faint gold as it was revealed.

Uma gasped, her free hand unconsciously reaching out to touch the glowing shell.

"Fairy Godmother didn't recognize it and it's so old and worn that anyone not from Neverland would just assume it's a Never-shell. But I knew this wasn't the necklace that belonged to Harry's mother." CJ withdrew her hand, tucking the collar back over the shell where it still glowed faintly under it before fading, dormant once again. "And it felt too much like it was imbued with love for it to have been cursed." She glanced up at Uma knowingly, taking in her wide startled eyes. "It didn't take me too long to put the pieces together on who gave it to him. But that type of magic isn't what I want," the blonde sighed taking in Uma's stunned expression as she continued to take everything in. "What I want from you is more along the lines of true love's kiss."

It took Uma a few seconds to realize the source of the sudden laughter in the room was coming from her.

"That doesn't exist," she shook her head, braids swaying.

CJ frowned, one hand on a cocked hip. "Um, hello? Snow White ring any bells? Sleeping Beauty?"

"It doesn't exist for villains," Uma corrected, defensive, building up walls, tall and strong so that the hope of someone actually loving her, that ((not)her) Harry actually loved her, didn't even get a chance of taking root.

"Uma-" CJ began but Uma cut her off with a violent shake of her head.

"I should go," she said quickly making her way to the door.

"UMA!"

She paused at the door but didn't turn around. "I hope your brother wakes up," she said softly before slipping out the door.

 _ **IHOATF**_

"I'll do my best to make sure Gil's well taken care of," Ben promised Uma the next day. He had caught her on her way out, trying to escape from Evie's pitying stares, Carlos's cooing over his new mutt to calm his anxiety down, the nervous twitches of Jay's hands needing something to steal, and Mal's brooding quietness.

The half-fae had barely said a word when the news that the son of Gaston had given Harry "Hook" Jones a magical object that had overwhelmed him into unconsciousness. No one who had ever met the lovable oaf actually thought he had been the mastermind behind the object but with several Isle-born children now at Auradon, Fairy Godmother couldn't take any chances. In any other circumstance, Mal would have bitten off Uma's head for Gil bringing the microscope they were already under closer on them. And if what CJ had said the other night was true, if it wasn't for the fact that even Jay seemed genuinely surprised about the news about Harry, Uma would have thought Mal had set her up.

Mal did have a history of stabbing her in the back for no other reason other than she could.

Ben shifted awkwardly in front of Uma opening his mouth and saying "CJ told me-" he started before thinking better about it and switching topics. "Once my coronation occurs next week," Ben continued, "and Fairy Godmother crowns and blesses me as King, I can pardon Gil and he'll be released and we'll start the search for the real culprit."

"Blessings?" Mal's suddenly questioned, right at Uma's shoulder nearly causing her to jump out of her skin.

It took everything in Uma to not throw up at the way that Ben's expression grew excited at Mal's apparent interest in something he was saying. After all, Mal had a bad habit of trying to put as much space between her and the foolish naive prince. Uma found it strange and tucked the observation in the back of her mind to think about later.

"Yes!" Ben nodded enthusiastically. "Once I'm crowned, Fairy Godmother blesses me with her wand. You're invited of course," he smiled dopely before quickly glancing back at Uma, Evie, Jay, and Carlos, amending, "You all are. The entire school will be there."

Just as Evie squealed about needing to get started on their outfits and Uma was prepared to decline her own invite, Mal not so gently shoved her to the side a sugary fake smile twisting its way onto her face.

"Wow!" Mal exclaimed, her tone going a tad high in its poorly veiled mockery of any of the Auradon princesses. Uma couldn't believe it when Ben's smile merely grew brighter. "That is beyond exciting. Do you think that it's a possibility that we could stand in the front row next to the Fairy Godmother? Just so we could soak up all that goodness?"

Ben's face fell.

"I wish you could," he started. "Up front it's just me, my folks, and my girlfriend."

The gears were already turning in Mal's brain before she gave the prince a hasty goodbye, shutting the door promptly in his face.

"I need a love spell," Mal declared as soon as the door locked.

Uma blinked slowly, wondering if anyone else was going to point it out to Mal just how stupid putting a love spell on the prince would be when they were already under so much scrutiny. When no one did, Uma felt her jaw open and shut in disbelief.

 _Seriously?_ , she thought. How can any of them think this will be a good idea? She held her tongue though. It would be really stupid to put a target on her back when Mal had already been acting so strange and unpredictable lately, like a cornered wild animal.

"You'll be helping me and E make it, Shrimpy," Mal said with a resigned tone, as if she was being forced to swallow broken glass.

"Wait," Uma snapped into attention. "What? I don't have magic. I couldn't use any of your spells from your book, remember?"

Sighing, Mal crossed the room and leaned against her bedpost, arms crossed. She worried at her bottom lip slightly, a sign that Uma subconsciously remembered meant she was stressed and trying to figure out a plan as she went.

"Because" the half-fae began, pointing to Uma before continuing on as if she was speaking to a child, "You're a sea-witch. Your magic is potions based."

Uma had to stop herself from revealing that she had been making potions since arriving in Auradon and none of them did anything other than settle bad stomach aches.

"Really? I thought it was just because I wasn't a spoiled brat," Uma mimicked Mal's condescending tone, arms crossed, feeling Carlos's and Evie's stunned gazes and Jay's amused stare.

Uma always hated Mal, ever since her betrayal but she had always let her anger simmer just beneath the skin, careful of her words around the other girl in fear that what little she had would be taken from her just like her name had been. Perhaps it was because she realized that she truly had nothing to lose at this point that years worth of pent up aggression suddenly fueled her bravery. (Or stupidity. The jury was still out on which it actually was.)

"Listen," Uma continued. "I'm just trying to figure out if being in Auradon with all of its sunlight and rainbows and pretty pink princesses has finally fried the last of your damn brain cells. Doing a love spell on Ben when all this shit with Gil and Har- that Hook kid," (she ignored the way her stomach flopped at the thought of her friend and the blue eyed sailor), "is going to work just as well as it did when our parents used them. Look where they ended up. Where **we** ended up because of them! Growing up on a literal garbage dump!"

"We're better than our parents!" Mal fumed pushing away from the bed post and it brought Uma great pleasure to see the girl's usually cool facade break when confronted for once in her life. She wanted Mal mad. She wanted Mal to feel small and insignificant just like Mal had made her feel for the past six years.

"Then why are you still standing in mommy's shadow, Mal? Afraid you're not big or bad enough?" Uma hissed, using words that Mal had thrown at her so many times before. "You poor. Unfortunate. Soul."

Mal clamped her mouth shut, eyes glowing an ominous green. In the past, Uma's self-preservation would have had her stand down long before now. At the moment, something deep inside of her would not allow having this little lizard breath momma's girl fuck things up more than they already were.

"Ladies. Ladies. Don't we all want the same thing?" Jay tried to step in to dispel the tension but was silenced when Mal pushed him away, eyes still locked on Uma. Evie made a move to cut in as well but Carlos grabbed her arm, pushing her behind him as Jay shifted in front of the younger boy.

"Oh, I'm so silly! How did I not see it?" Mal suddenly smiled sweetly with a role of her eyes, stepping closer. Uma tensed with each step. "Guys," she briefly looked over her shoulder at the others. "This is so adorable!" she gushed turning back to Uma. "Did the little freaky misfit sea monster fall in love with the Prince?" she cooed before snapping her fingers, her smile growing into a cruel grin. "No, that's not right. It's the devilishly handsome sailor boy, isn't it? Tell me, are the only ways you can keep a guy around you is for them to be as dumb as bricks like Gil or to put them into a magical coma like your little sailor so he can't run away from the ugly little sea urchin you are, Shrimpy?"

Uma's nails bit into the palm of her hand as she felt something inside of her stir slightly, like waves crashing against violently against each other, threatening to tear apart anything in their path.

"No. Not at all," Uma said evenly despite the storm that was beginning to brew within her. "I just don't like taking away someone's consent and forcing them to love me. After all," she said with a sickenly sweet smile of her own that made Mal falter. (Afterall, despite how Mal liked to deny it, once upon a time, they had once been friends and shared all their deep secrets. Uma knew that and Mal seemed to suddenly remember that too), "we've all seen the product of a love potion gone wrong," Uma said looking intentionally at Mal, the other girl having gone deathly pale.

All of the air seemed to be sucked out of the room.

"Get out." Mal said quietly.

"No," Uma growled back

"GET OUT!" Maleficent's daughter roared, eyes flashing a threatening green.

Uma would hate to admit it, but there was only so much standing up she could do before years of self preservation instincts took over.

So, she ran and didn't look back...

* * *

Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay. Uma just did not want to be written in this chapter.

Thank you as always for your reviews, favorites, and alerts. I really appreciate them. Let me know what you think and feel free to find me on Tumblr as edream93.

Until next time!

Until next time!


	6. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

Chapter 6: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

She felt exhilarated.

She felt likes she was riding the crest of a wave.

It was such a rush...until it all crashed. And then she realized… Mal was literally and figuratively going to destroy her.

 _Fuck._

Uma had poked the dragon in her most sensitive and secretest of places. (The subject of her father and conception had always been a touchy subject for the half-fae.) It wouldn't be long before she felt the heat of consequences for that deliberate verbal slip.

" _Seven Seas. I'm as good as fish bait",_ the sea witch's daughter thought as she put as much distance between her and Mal's fury.

Going back to her dorm any time soon was not an option so Uma snuck quietly into the library, curling up in a rarely visited corner of the library, ignoring the bell for the start of dinner followed soon after for the curfew warning bell. Ignoring the way her entire body trembled.

She spent a sleepless night in that corner, jumping at every little sound, wondering if the echoing footsteps of the janitor cleaning the hallway outside was Mal's with damning glowing green eyes and a spell on her lips.

When morning came, Uma - tired and weary - finally dared to sneak out before the librarian arrived. She avoided the dorms despite the fact that she was wearing the exact same clothes from the day before and that most of her things were there as well.

Whatever. She would ditch the Tourney game and see if she could convince whatever guard that was staring holes into the wall to let her stay with Gil even though it wasn't visiting hours.

Constantly looking over her shoulder, Uma headed to her locker, hoping that maybe she had left one of Gil's old and worn jackets forgotten in there. It would be long enough to hide the fact that she was wearing yesterday's clothes. (And Gil's familiar "boy scent" would hopefully help ground her; help remind her that pissing off Mal didn't just mean a target on her back.)

When she opened the locker, she was surprised when she found a small bag of clothes inside that hadn't been there yesterday after class. None of it looked familiar but all the items were in her size and color.

" _Thought you might need these,"_ was all the note on top said but feeling the rich texture and neatly done stitches Uma had a guess who they might be from.

Too tired to even question the motive behind the Evil Queen's daughter's gift, Uma quickly found a bathroom and changed, only stepping out when she was wearing soft golden brown leather pants tucked into her boots, a black mesh shirt and the teal jacket with gold stitched starfish and shells and crashing waves that Evie had tried to give her as a peace offering when they had first arrived in Auradon.

Uma tugged on the jacket self consciously. She was mostly used to Gil's old hand me downs or just whatever she could find. These clothes...were actually nice, reminding her of what she imagined the fearsome female pirate captains would wear from the stories the drunk pirates would tell her and Gil when there was nothing else to do.

For a brief, indulgent moment, Uma pretended she was one of those female pirate captains with her own first mate and crew, free to sail the seas as far as the winds would take her...

"There you are," a voice hissed before Jay's heavy arm was slung around her shoulders. "Don't say a word," he growled pulling her tightly to his side before she could even think about getting away. "Just follow along and I might just be able to get Mal from not killing you," he ordered before forcibly tugging her along back to the lockers where Mal was standing in front of Ben, Evie and Carlos watching nearby.

When they got closer, Uma could see that Mal was holding a bag with a single cookie in it and instantly she knew it was laced with a love spell.

Damnit. So this was actually going down.

"She's doing it," Uma huffed in slight disbelief.

"We all have to do what we have to do," Jay responded just as Mal was guilt tripping Ben to take the cookie. "Our parents are expecting us to succeed."

Uma bit her lip to hold back a very posibly damning retort.

Maybe it was because the same boiling anger that had been churning under her skin like a storm from yesterday still not had dispersed. Maybe she was just fed up with Mal. Maybe it was the fact that she knew that even if they did get the stupid wand, her mother still wouldn't be pleased with her. Or maybe it was Ben. How she knew that he was balancing school, Tourney, and the responsibilities of a soon-to-be king and yet...he still visited Gil, making sure her friend was as comfortable as one could be as a prisoner. How she knew that that this was arguably one of the most important people to Harry and if she couldn't save (her) Harry the least she could do was save the boy who was like a brother to him from the five foot purple lizard in heels.

Whatever was the motivation, her body moved instantly.

Jay must not have expected her to be much of a struggle because it was easy for her to slip out of his loose grip and dash towards Mal and the unsuspecting prince. And as she let out a hiss as her side collided hard and loud against the lockers, right between Mal and Ben, she missed the glazed look that momentarily covered Ben's eyes just as he bit into the cookie.

Uma didn't even have time to see if she had arrived in time because she let out a pained grunt, a sharp tug on her braids that caused her head to painfully snap backwards to the point that she was looking at Mal's sneering expression and flashing green eyes upside down.

"You _conniving_ little-!" she growled out, ready to slam Ursula's daughter head against the lockers.

"Mal!" Jay hissed, grabbing her wrist so roughly that she released Uma's hair, the shift in momentum sending Uma crashing straight into Ben.

"Are you okay?" Ben asked and it seemed like both Uma and Mal held their breath as Uma gently pushed herself away from the prince.

"Uh, how you feeling, bro?" Jay asked, observing Ben.

The prince smiled and Uma felt her stomach twist unpleasantly, the half eaten granola bar that she had found in her pocket threatening to make a reappearance.

"I-I feel...I feel...I feel like...Like singing your name," Ben smiled adoringly, eyes never leaving Uma.

Fuck.

 _ **IHOATF**_

Mal had stomped off in a rage and Jay and Carlos had dragged the lovestruck Ben away and to the Tourney field for the game. That left only Evie to watch as Uma paced back and forth in one of the empty classroom.

Cheers from the field were easily heard, even from the main building. Only days ago, Uma had thought she might have been there, in the bleachers mostly there to support Gil, but also silently cheering on a certain sailor, clutching tightly on to the necklace shell he had exchanged with her along with a promise that he would tell her something very important once they won the game.

" _Never-shells are for protecting,"_ she remembered him telling her as she nervously rubbed her thumb over the smooth surface. " _I doubt it can protect me from this mess,"_ she thought.

Evie sighed loudly, startling Uma out of her thoughts. The other girl was sitting at a desk, looking down at the mirror the Evil Queen have given her. "Looks like Mal went to the art room to smash some pottery," she informed, putting the mirror away before looking up at Uma, frowning. "She's pissed."

"Really?" Uma gasped in mock shock. "I never would have guessed. What gave it away? Her nearly being one step away from breathing fire at me?"

"What were you thinking Uma?" Evie sighed, rubbing her temples. "Now your the object of Ben's affection because of the love spell. Do you want Mal to ruin you?"

Uma chuckled humorlessly, nervously playing with the ends of one of her braids. "She already has."

The room became silent except for the clipped sounds of Uma's boots as she paced, unaware as Evie watched her with a thoughtful expression.

"It was Mal, you know."

Uma paused. "What?" she furrowed her brow, turning to look at the girl.

Evie looked uncomfortable under her stare, shifting in her seat, painted red lips pursing in thought as she tried to formulate her words. "It was Mal," she repeatedly. "She's the one who framed Gil...and made Harry…" Evie bit her lip. "She didn't tell me but...I think it's obvious."

Uma had her suspicions. Wasn't surprised really at all that yet again Maleficent's spawn had tried to take away the few drifting bits of happiness she had in her garbage pile of a life. But still, having it verbalized, spoken out loud, especially by someone she had always assumed was nothing more than a vapid pretty face, caused Uma to stumble into the chair next to Evie.

Uma gripped the edges of the edge of the desk tightly to try and stop her hands from shaking, ignoring Evie's gaze on her.

"Why?"

"I think you know why."

"No," Uma turned, glaring at the other girl. "I really don't. Other than the fact that she's a spoiled bitch clinging on to Mommy's robes."

Evie frowned as if she was surprised Uma didn't understand something. "It's because she loves you, Uma."

The laughter that bubbled from Uma's mouth was harsh, biting, and a bit crazed (a chilling realization was that it reminded her a lot of her mother's).

Mal? In love? With her?

It was so fucking ridiculous and cruel, even after all she experienced on the Isle. Bile threatened to rise to her throat.

She stopped her crazed laughter suddenly, standing up before flipping the desk that she was sitting at with a rage filled shout. Evie jumped at the loud crashing noise, remaining in her seat. She tensed but remained where she sat when Uma slammed her hands down on her desk, leaning forward so close to the other girl that she could almost see the freckles that Evie always tried to hide under layers of makeup.

"The shit that Mal has done to me," the teal haired girl said in a voice that was dangerously calm. She shook her head, disgust filling her features. "That ain't love, princess. Not even for us!"

Despite the fury that rolled off of Uma in waves, Evie still dared to ask, a knowing glint in her eye, "And what do you know about love? Have you felt it for someone before?"

Uma pulled away, as if she had been slapped, trying not to think about sailing and black lined blue eyes. Evie took the moment to stand, straightening out her outfit.

"Look," Evie began. "I'm not here to fight with you-"

"Like you could," Uma sniffed moving to look out of the window. Growing up with Gil meant growing up learning how to fight off his meatheaded brothers.

"- _but,"_ Evie continued, "Things are getting messy. You were right about the love potion and it's only a matter of time before people start doing more than pointing fingers at you. Harry's curse and Ben's sudden infatuation with you won't look like a coincidence when it'll be so easy to place the blame on the daughter of one of Auradon's wickedest nightmares."

"I'm an easy scapegoat," Uma deflated, the raging seas underneath her skin finally seeming to still with weariness and hopelessness. "Guilty until proven guilty."

"Right," Evie nodded carefully moving closer to her. "That's why I'm going to help you get Gil out of prison."

Uma shook her head. "I'm sorry. I think I misheard-"

"You didn't" Evie cut her off, the pretty princess with dreams of a prince and castle replaced with a sharp eyed girl, plans twisting and unfolding behind deceptively pretty brown eyes. (How the seven seas did Uma ever think she was some dim witted airhead?) "Carlos has already hacked into the cell's security and I made knockout gas for the guards. And according to the last time Jay counted your hidden stash - don't give me that look, even Gil's smelly boot isn't deterrent enough for Jay not to go snooping around - you should definitely have enough money for two tickets to somewhere far _far_ away where it'll be easy to stay under the radar, even when we get the wands and let the barrier down."

"You're...you're serious, aren't you?" Uma murmured in awe, slumping down into the seat that Evie had vacated. "Why?"

Evie lets out a puff of air, a poor attempt at hiding a laugh. "You weren't the only one Mal made life miserable for on the Isle," she answered sadly before her trademark flirty smirk appeared on her perfectly painted face. "Now, no more questions. Meet me outside of the dorms after curfew. Make sure you have everything you and Gil will need," she said as she strutted towards the classroom door, Uma still sitting dumbfounded behind her. "And Uma?" Evie paused, turning slightly, most of her body already out of the door. Her face briefly softened as she softly urged, "Make sure to say goodbye to your sailor before you leave. It might be your last chance."

And then she was gone, leaving the girl she left behind to even wonder if any of it had been real.

Uma spent hours in the empty classroom, avoiding Ben and his love potion induced declarations of love; avoiding a fuming Audrey (apparently Ben had broken up with the girl in a very embarrassing and _public_ display at the end of the game); and most importantly avoiding Mal, Evie's words of a twisted thing that wasn't love playing like a broken record.

It was only when the sky outside became dark and most of the students were either in the dining hall or their rooms that Uma found herself climbing through an open window of the school's infirmary after she was confident that the coast was clear. (After the strange turn this day had taken, she didn't think she could deal with another interaction with CJ.)

Harry still looked pale and unresponsive and not like (her) Harry.

"I'm sorry, Harry," she sighed softly to him as she sat on the side of his bed. "This…" she sighed again, taking his hand in hers. "You didn't deserve this. This...this had nothing to do with you."

Perhaps it was because this was already "The Day of Uma's Fucking Bad Decisions". Perhaps it was because she has been up for over twenty-four hours now and stupid decisions like pissing off spoiled purple dragons or listening to blonde half-fairies with pointy ears that talked about true love's kiss actually began to make sense. Or even perhaps it was because she was tired of not getting what she wanted and knowing that if Evie wasn't planning to backstab her, if she was actually able to help Uma break Gil out of prison, there was no chance that she would actually get to see this silly sailor boy with enchanting blue eyes and a crooked smile full of mischief ever again, sleeping curse or not.

Honestly, Uma would never be able to give a definite reason. However, at the moment, she didn't care.

She just leaned forward, one calloused hand holding his close to her heart, the other softly cupping his cheek.

And then, she kissed him...

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...and **_her_** sailor kissed her back.

* * *

Hello everyone! Sorry for taking so long to update. A lot of stuff has happened since the last update. This chapter wasn't originally what I had planned and I had to take out some things but I think overall I'm happier with this version of the chapter than the original chapter I had planned. Also, check out the song "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" by XYLO. I think it fits this chapter a bit.

As always, thank you for the reviews, favorites, subscriptions, etc. I always appreciate them and your support. I hope you are all continuing to enjoy this story!

I can't say for sure, but there might be only two more chapters left in this story, but we'll see.

Anyway, let me know what you think?

Until next time!


	7. What Is Love?

**_Chapter 7: What is Love?_**

 _When Harry was younger, when he had first moved to live with the King and Queen of Auradon and their young son because Neverland's magic was just too potent for the young sailor's intolerance, Queen Belle would sit in her plain but comfortable reading chair, feet tucked underneath her comfortably and a book in her lap as she read enthusiastically out loud to the eagerly listening young boys._

 _Ben's favorite stories always included forgiveness and second chances, the story of his parents' being his favorite while Harry's favorites always included adventures and treasures and sailing, his father's story, not surprisingly, his own personal favorite._

 _However, neither boy seemed to really like the stories of princesses under sleeping spells saved by true love's kiss._

" _Why a kiss?" Ben would frown quietly, small face confused._

" _It's so boring!" Harry would moan loudly, flopping himself dramatically on his stomach across the queen's lap without hesitation while Ben would sit on the arm of his mother's chair, leaning against her side. "It's not revenge! I bet Ms. Aurora and Ms. Snow didn't even realize days had passed while they were just snoring away. Shouldn't a villain's revenge be painful?" he asked, calling up the story of how his father lost his hand by the wicked Peter Pan or how King Adam had been stabbed by the loathsome huntsman Gaston._

 _Belle fondly patted both boy's heads, lightly removing Harry from her lap and onto his feet on the floor before guiding Ben down as well, both boys standing before her, waiting for her response._

" _Sometimes," she said carefully, "the most painful revenge a villain can ever do is not something done to you but watching as those around you are hurt and your unable to do anything about it. That lost of control can be very scary especially when someone you love is in danger and you feel like you can't do anything about it."_

 _Ben looked thoughtful, mulling over his mother's words while Harry still looked confused as he squirmed to stand still at Belle's feet like Cogsworth and Lumiere had to constantly remind him to. ("You may not be royalty, Master Harry, but you carry on your shoulders your father's and your mother's legacy. You must look the part of the future Hand of the King," Cogsworth had lectured him just earlier that day.)_

" _I don't get it," Ben said truthfully._

 _Standing up and taking both boys' hands in her own, Belle led them back to their room. "Well hopefully you'll never have to experience that, my dears," she smiled down warmly at them both confident that neither of them would have to experience something like that in this time of peace…_

 ** _IHOATF_**

It was a strange feeling. The fog that had kept him trapped in his mind had both departed and grown until it threatened to overwhelm him out of existence…

It was thick and heavy and it felt like even his thoughts were being smothered.

Then, the fog cleared and Harry was in a moldy dim lighted room, filled with equally moldy looking tables. And though he wasn't sure how he could smell in a dream, the pungent smell of rotten fish and mildew nearly made him vomit, dream or not.

But in the middle of all of it - like a lighthouse in a storm - was Uma.

Or at least, a version of Uma.

(Not _his_ Uma.)

She was just as beautiful as the Uma he knew, breathtaking as she danced with sharp, precise, powerful movements, a group of teenagers, all dressed in worn pirate clothing surrounding her.

She commanded the space around her. Fluid. Unyielding. Fierce.

When she was lifted into the air, sitting on a throne decorated in coral and starfish he found his heart trip over itself, the confident and assured grin proudly etched on her face that he had ever only seen on rare occasions on _his_ Uma's face.

So caught up in this pirate queen's presence (because there was no other title he could call this _not his_ Uma), Harry barely realized that his body was moving on it's own, moving in time to a rhythm that seemed to inspire them all, motivated by this enchanting queen's presence. The crew (her crew, no, _their_ crew) placed this Uma and her throne in front of a makeshift stage and her dark beautiful brown eyes turned expectedly onto him to play his role.

It was an out of body experience. The crew surrounded him, hyping him up as his body moved, hips swaying in a drunken manner as he made his way down the stage. His lips parted in praise of the queen before him, a pleased look (and something else that made him want to put a little extra sway in his hip rolls) shining brightly on her face. He hopped down from the stage, kneeling before her as he took her hand to help her stand on her throne.

Everyone else looked away as her presence seemed to shine brighter but Harry's eyes were always trained on her even when she was lifted away from him to dance on another table. He wanted to follow her but Gil was stuck staring confused in the middle of all the movement.

"Get over there!" Harry heard himself growl at the blonde, pointing with an odd silver hook that he had been holding towards where the others were moving. He felt guilty for treating the friendly blonde so roughly even if he didn't have control over his actions but that was only for a few seconds before his body moved him back on stage, standing next to the enchanting teal haired queen. She was facing away from him but suddenly turned towards him, pinky wrapping around the hook that he held easily as if she knew without a doubt he would be right behind her. Always.

It was such a simple gesture, but it meant so much to the two of them. Only them. Their little secret promise to each other.

 _(We're in this together,"_ her eyes said.)

"Hook me!" she laughed, grin filled with confidence, mischief, and something else that he knew was just for him that made his heart swell so much that it almost hurt. It reminded him of _his_ Uma, how when he had first saw her, he knew that in whatever life they were in together, he would follow her to the end of the world and beyond.

The movement around them seemed to pause, the crew and the grimy restaurant fading away until it was just the two of them surrounded by nothingness. The pirate queen turned around to face him fully, her pinky still intertwined with the hook that he held.

"You gotta go back to her, Harry," she murmured tugging him gently closer to her with her pinky.

He blinked and for a moment, she looked older...wiser...the queenly aurora around her shining even brighter. A glimpse of what could be. Of what was, somewhere else in a different world. She radiated confidence and mischief...and so much hardwon and rightly deserved love.

"She needs you just as much as you need her. Like _I_ always need you," this queen said as she tilted her head up invitingly. "In this world-"

"-and the next," Harry finished before capturing her lips in his, a slow but electrifying kiss that ended all too soon when she pulled away with a gasp.

Harry groaned, opening his eyes only to have to blink several times for his eyes to adjust to the sudden bright light as well as his bodies stiff limbs.

He was awake. _True love's kiss_ , the queen's voice laugh faded along with his memory of her until all that was left was flashing foggy images of a dream almost, but not quite forgotten.

While Harry's eyes were adjusting and feeling was working its way back up his body, Uma felt her breath snatched from her lungs, the world around focused and centered on the dazed but bright blue eyes that she had prayed to every god she could think of, even Poseidon, to see again.

"Y-you're...you're awake," she managed to choke out, forcing herself back into the chair that sat next to his bed.

"And awoken in the best way possible," Harry hummed, voice deep with sleep. A wide grin forming on his face as he took in the way her cheeks darkened, both of them very aware of what had just happened. Of the implications and possibilities that such a simple thing like a kiss could mean in this situation. "Ye took your time though, lass."

The corners of her lips twitched upwards, her stomach suddenly filled with weird fluttering that wasn't all that uncomfortable.

Uma had never realized how much she had missed his voice until now.

' _He's awake,'_ she thought in a moment of relief.

' _He's_ **awake** _,'_ she thought again in a moment of dread.

He, a hero, had been under a sleeping curse.

She, a villain, had been the one to break the curse with a kiss.

 _Fuck._

She didn't realize she was struggling to breathe, only taking shallow breaths until she felt a tug that pulled her back on the bed, Harry's warm and anchoring hand on her back and his voice in her ear directing her to breath as he pulled her onto his lap.

"That's my girl," Harry praised when she was taking deeper breaths. (Uma would never speak about how being called _his_ made her heart feel like it wanted to do a cartwheel out of her chest and into his hands. It was such a sickeningly sweet image to imagine.)

"I-I should go get someone," Uma began trying to move out of his grasp, a desire to flee, a desire to run away from the one thing that she had always been taught to believe was a weakness. This couldn't be real, right? It was a fluke. A cruel twisted sour cherry on top of the rotten shrimp smelling sundae that was her life.

"NO!" Harry growled suddenly, grabbing her firmly around her waist. The movement was unexpected, causing Uma to fall back so she was half sprawled over him. Harry let out a breath when her elbow accidentally dug into his side but grinned down cheekily at her surprised expression. "Hi," was all he could think to say, easily getting distracted by her lovely brown eyes.

"Hi?" Uma snapped in disbelief, still half on him. "I-is that all you have to say? We- I-I-I kissed you and now you're, you're awake! And…"

"And now we're here," Harry reassured, using their closeness to press a quick kiss to her forehead, another one to the tip of her nose, before a lingering one just a the corner of her mouth before pulling away, taking in her stunned expression and the way that her tongue ran over her lips unconsciously. (She both hated and maybe not so much hated these warm and _safe_ feelings he gave her with even the simplest of gestures. Was she that much touch starved?) "Together. That's all," he said interlacing his fingers of one hand with hers, placing them over his heart like she had done earlier. "Don't overthink it, darling. It's just you and me. Whatever pace you want to set."

Ursula's daughter bit her lip.

"We don't...I mean," Uma sighed annoyed that words were failing her.

She pushed back from him so that she was sitting fully up, her hand still interlaced with his. Harry shifted slightly so his back was propped up against his pillows, patiently drawing small circles on the back of her hand before she continued. The repetitive movement seemed to be enough to ground her as she collected her thoughts

"Love," Uma eventually managed to get out, her tongue feeling strange around the word, "I don't know what that is. But I do know fear. My mother. Mal…," she growled out the last name, taking in the way that Harry tensed at the name, confirming Evie's earlier suspicion that the half-fae was behind his current predicament. "They made sure I knew it well," she sighed, falling deep into her thoughts until Harry squeezed her hand, bringing her back to the present with him.

"Mal came to my room," Harry shared after a moment. "Wanted to make a deal."

"What sort of a deal?" Uma frown deepened.

Harry laughed humorlessly, bringing up their intertwined hands up to his lips. Uma pretended like always that it didn't have any effect on her but she was sure he could probably hear how loudly her heart was beating in her ears.

"She wanted me to break yer heart. Promised that if I did, she would make it worth my while." He made eye contact with her, never breaking eye contact with her as he said, "I told her she could shove her deal up her ass. Why take some dark fae's promise when I have a goddess's blessing," he said pulling out the necklace that was tucked underneath his shirt. The magic shell necklace seemed to hummed happily as his touch before it became silent once again.

"I'm not a goddess," Uma mumbled turning her face away, to hide how much it was burning.

Her face was turned back to face his, the fingers of his free hand tracing her jaw softly. "I beg to differ," he looked at her reverently.

Uma coughed, embarrassed though it didn't feel like it did when Mal had threw that bucket of shrimp on her.

She turned her attention to their connected hands, noticing not for the first time how small hers looked compared to his, how they fit so easily together…But then she remembered why she had initially came here. That this was supposed to be a goodbye. That this - whatever this was with it's fluttering warm feelings that made her feel like she had lost her sea legs in the oddly most amazing of ways - wasn't meant to last. That she wasn't the sea goddess he had fooled himself into believing that she was. That he deserved someone better than a seawitch's poor unfortunate daughter…

Harry reached out, swiping his thumb across her cheek wiping away tears. (She had started crying. When did that happen?)

"I was so afraid when Ben and I found you in your room. Afraid not for me or even Gil initially when I saw his bandana, but for _you_. It made me sad and angry that you may never wake up again. That it was so obviously Mal who did this to you but that I couldn't do anything to fix it." She shook her head, placing her hand over his where it still remained on her cheek even after all the tears had been wiped away. "So I don't know what love feels like, but I know what it feels like to be afraid of losing something else that I consider mine. Of wanting to protect what's mine at any cost."

"Yours, eh?" Harry grinned softly, leaning forward so that his forehead rested against her shoulder. "I like the sound of that, darling," she felt his grin as he turned his head slightly, pressing soft kisses against her neck, letting out a soft moan when her hand instinctively moved to to run through his dark locks, tugging in a way that felt like he had reached heaven, both their breaths growing heavy.

It would be so easy to stay there and pretend that there was nothing outside of this room. That it was just the two of them. A girl and her sailor.

But Gil's bright smile popped into Uma's head and guilt snapped her back to reality. She made a promise to Gil and villain or not, she couldn't allow herself to let him down.

"Harry," she began, pulling his face away from her neck where he had slowly been making a path of lazy kisses down. However, she didn't get to finish because the doors to the infirmary unexpectedly opened, CJ followed by a tall beautiful woman in an Auradon Navy captain's uniform entering the room.

"Oh! Uma you're here! I thought-" CJ greeted before she realized that Uma was holding hands with her very much awake (and very much disheveled looking) brother. "YOU DID IT!" she squealed, a blur of blonde hair and joyful tears before she leapt at both of them, embracing them tightly as they all fell back on the bed. "I knew it!" she said through her tears. "You two were meant for each other."

Uma wasn't sure how to respond but Harry merely laughed, pulling them both together towards him, tightening the embrace like they both would fly off.

A throat clearing interrupted the reunion and Uma over CJ's shoulder saw the naval captain watching them, expression closed off and distant. "Calista Jane," she scolded. "You're much too close to him right now. We don't know if he's strong enough to be around magic due to his intolerance in his current weakened and _vulnerable_ ," she spat out the word glaring at Uma, "state. You can roughhouse our brother when he has been cleared by both a doctor and Fairy Godmother."

CJ pouted but there was no room for argument with the woman who would take over as commander of the Auradon Navy when Captain Hook retired. CJ pushed herself off the bed, self consciously tugging on her gloves and sleeves to make sure that they were firmly in place and that no direct skin contact had been made with her weakened brother. "Sorry Harriet."

The captain, Harriet, gave a curt nod before turning her sharp gaze once again on Uma. Like with CJ, it was only due to Harry having already told her about his sister's and the confident swagger that both Harry and CJ had as well and that still managed to slip through the naval captain's straightlaced appearance that Uma knew that this was Harriet Jones, Harry's older half-sister.

"I'm sorry, miss," Harriet began, not sounding sorry at all. "But only family members of the patient are allowed to visit the infirmary. And since you are of magical parentage as well, I really must insist that you leave now for my brother's well being, please."

"Now wait just a minute, Ettie," Harry growled annoyed. "I feel fine! Better than fine, actually!"

"It's fine," Uma said to him softly, squeezing his hand, before turning towards Harriet with a much more guarded look. "I was just about to leave anyway."

Uma got off the bed, forcing herself to let go of his hand. When they both let go, she instantly missed the physical touch and tried to ignore the hurt look that Harry gave her. She gave a small smile to CJ who looked not at all happy with the current situation before brushing past Harriet on her way out the infirmary.

Uma forced herself not to look back. Not even when Harry called out for her. If she did, she would never be able to follow through with the plan that was beginning to take form in her mind...

* * *

Special thanks to dxscxndxnts on Tumblr or jojo_sain on AO3 or Josain Chennuth on here for helping me through a writer's block.

Hello all! I'm so sorry for the wait! I've recently moved and started my PhD program and my schedule is maybe even busier than it was when I was getting my Masters. Anyway, I didn't forget this story or all of you lovely readers. Though updates may be slightly slower until the winter holidays, I am still very dedicated to getting this and my other Descendants stories finished. (My goal is to get them all finished or almost finished by the time D3 comes out but that may be a lofty goal with how much limited free time I currently have.)

Anyway, as always, thank you all for being so patient and for your continued support. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The scene with Harry and "the pirate queen" is from the "What's My Name" music video and actually connects this story to my other story "We'll Light the Fuse" though you don't need to read that story to understand what's going on in this story and also you won't be able to see how exactly they both connect until much later in WLTF, like towards the end which is still a while away. If anything, it's kind of like an easter egg. Cool if you find it and understand what it means but if you don't you're not missing anything.

Until next time!


	8. The Gift

**Chapter 8: The Gift**

" _I don't know what love feels like…"_

"Are you sure you're alright, Harry?"

He sighed loudly, pulled from his thoughts. Shaky hands ran irritated fingers through his already messy hair as he pushed away from his dorm room window. He breathed in deeply through his nose, just like his old therapist, Mr. Topolino used to instruct him.

It didn't help.

"Again, Harriet," Harry tried to keep the irritation out of his tone as he turned towards her, "for the hundredth time, I'm fine."

"You're gonna smother him with your hovering, Ettie," CJ also seemed to be annoyed with their sister. She laid on her back with her head hanging upside down over the edge. "The infirmary cleared him days ago." Her face broke out into a mischievous little grin. "Though his big-head syndrome is unfortunately incurable."

Harry threw a balled up shirt at her, grinning at the surprised squeal she let out.

Harriet glared at her siblings but sighed after a moment, picking up her captain's hat and fiddling with it. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "Just knowing that my brother was targeted by Gaston's bumbling son and Ursula's wretched daughter has put me on edge."

Harry closed his eyes. "It _wasn't_ them, Ettie."

"Really?" Harriet snorted incredulously, flicking her long braid over her shoulder. "Because breaking a suspect from their cell and running away in the middle of the night seems pretty guilty to me, Harry _James_. Their parents, who were villains, raised them to be liar and thieves! It was only a matter of time, if you ask me," she crossed her arms with a sneer.

Harry's jaw clenched. He turned his glare back to the window.

Harriet was telling the truth. They had left in the middle of the night, leaving even Mal and her gang clueless. They hadn't stolen anything (afterall, Harry had _given_ Uma his heart) but King Adam wanted them found. _Now._

Glancing at CJ who was glaring at her, Harriet sighed, cursing under her breath. "I'm sorry Harry. I…," she paused searching for the right words. "I hate to see you hurting."

Though she and her siblings kept in regular enough contact, it felt like ages since Harriet actually felt like a big sister for her brother. The last time they had been in a room together was when Harry had just been a tall gangly thing. She missed the little boy who would string shells together for her whenever she came back from her naval training. The one who cried into her neck when their father had deemed it necessary to send him to live with the King and Queen when Neverland was too much for his intolerance. This young man before her was different.

He was a stranger to her.

Harriet bit her lip, putting down her hat and instead picked up the plain box she had brought with her earlier. "I don't intend to stay long," she cleared her throat, adopting the detached but commanding air of the Royal Navy captain that she was. "I know you have to get to that fitting for Ben's coronation and my crew is undoubtedly iching to take sail again but...I thought that it was a good time to give you this," she said said holding out the box to him.

Curiosity winning out over his dark mood, Harry moved away from his window, taking the box into his hands. It was heavier than he initially thought it was going to be. He went over to his bed, playfully pushing CJ off the bed to make room as he took a seat with the box on his lap. The blonde threw a pillow at his head which Harriet caught as she sat down next to her brother.

Harry opened the box, pushing aside Harriet's perfectly wrapped tissue paper to reveal dark red leather.

He found himself speechless.

"Is this...?" he began taking the item further out of the box to reveal a red leather jacket.

"Yeah," Harriet nodded, the corner of her lips tugging upwards sadly. "It belonged to your mother."

Harry ran his hand over the jacket's material feeling the small embroidered swan that had been stitched under the fold of the collar. Just like his father had described when Harry was just a young boy.

"I thought," Harriet cleared her throat, "that you'd want it for the coronation. Not only is Ben being crowned as the reigning king but it'll also be when he announces your appointment as the King's Hand. His right hand. This jacket will show that you are more than worthy to take on the position."

Standing up and moving over to his mirror, Harry shrugged on the jacket, feeling it magically shift around him to fit him, the amount of magic that had settled into every stitch and seam so old and established that it barely brushed against his awareness. When he looked down, the jacket had enlarged so not only did it fit his much broader shoulders, but it had also lengthened as well. (It was almost exactly like the one he had worn in his dream, if a bit cleaner.)

It was woven from fairy magic. One of the last remaining relics of Knights and Saviors. Roles that had been deemed unnecessary in this time of peace. And it had been gifted to his mother when she was just a young bounty hunter, rounding up some of the still living villains that Zeus hadn't flushed with Hades out from the Underworld and onto the Isle. He had thought that his father had given it to the Auradon Museum's archives, next to Audrey's father's fairy blessed sword and shield.

"Thanks Harriet," his voice was thick. He cleared his throat, blinking quickly. "Thank you."

Harriet got up, pressing a quick kiss to his temple. "Only those who are worthy and truly have something to protect can wear this. She would be proud of you. Just like we are," she said nodding towards CJ. "Just like father is."

" _Then why isn't he here?"_ Harry wanted to question her but held his tongue. He didn't want to argue with her over a man that they both knew was more of an elusive legend than an actual father to any of them.

Sensing his shift to heavier thoughts, CJ let out a loud sigh, drawing both of her siblings attention to her. "Harry gets a cool magic jacket and he'll probably get a cool fancy ship of his own. What about me?" she pouted, arms crossed. She even stomped her foot for added effect, the soft chiming of bells heard in tandem with the movement.

Harriet rolled her eyes, reaching over to ruffle her sister's hair. "Perhaps if _someone_ hadn't sent Father's favorite row boat over Pixie Falls, that _someone_ would have gotten her boating license by now."

CJ groaned, rolling her eyes as she flopped onto her back on Harry's bed. "I'm part Never-fairy! Sammy Smee should know that you can't challenge me and expect me _not_ to prove you wrong! Competitiveness is a very overpowering emotion!" she cried throwing her hands up. "But did he get punished as an instigator to the crime? Nooooo! Buncha fairy discrimination!"

Harriet rolled her eyes, turning to her brother. "Do something about this one, will you?"

Harry shook with barely restrained laughter. "You say that like you think I have any control over the little demon?"

"Hey!"

"Wishful thinking, I suppose," Harriet shrugged, already making her way towards the door. She paused, a proud look in her eye as she looked at Harry. "I know things haven't gone how you expected them to, but I am seriously proud of you. Both of you," she said before leaving the room, Harry and CJ left behind.

"Well," CJ said getting up, brushing off imaginary dust off her. "I hate lying to Harriet."

Closing his eyes, Harry pulled out Ursula's old shell necklace from underneath his shirt, not able to help the little smile that came to his face when the necklace seemed to hum at his touch, a sound that if he focused intently enough sounded like the most beautiful voice singing to him.

"Ye know ye didn't have to be a part of this," he looked at her seriously. "Ye can walk away and no one would be none the wiser. Ye'd be a hero."

CJ pursed her lips, reaching up to adjust his collar. " _Ye_ know _ye_ sound ridiculous with that accent when _ye_ get stressed," she teased back. "Besides, I have a debt to repay." When she was done, she took a step back. "Plus," she smirked, oozing with mischief. "I always wanted to be a pirate."

* * *

Hello everyone! Thank you so much as always for your feedback and support. This chapter is a bit shorter than usual but I felt like this was a good place to end. Ideally, only two more chapters left!

A little fun fact, Harry's mom, Emma, for those of you who may not have watched Once Upon A Time, was originally going to be an actual character in the story. She was supposed to be a guard who went to the Isle during the earlier years to make sure everything was in order when she found a crying baby. She manages to sneak him back to Auradon and raise him. The only issue with that story line was that Harriet and CJ would have been still on the Isle in that version and I hate splitting up my Hook siblings. So yeah...Emma was always supposed to be a thing.

Anyway, I'll try getting out the next chapter as soon as possible but please be patient with me as I'm going through with a lot of life changes currently.

Until next time!


	9. The Thin Line Between Love and Hate

**Chapter 9: The Thin Line Between Love and Hate**

 **TRIGGER WARNING: There are some abusive elements in this chapter. Nothing too detailed but if you're uncomfortable with that but still want a basic summary so that you can continue on with the story, just PM or leave a review.**

She was laughing at her.

She. Was. Laughing. At. Her.

She was _laughing_ at _her._

(Why was she laughing at her? Didn't she care? Didn't she knew what it did to have someone who was so integrated into your soul to laugh _at_ you?)

The mocking laughter followed the half-fae as she slipped down the wharf, arms frantically pinwheeling as if the air would become solid, providing something that would halt her slippery path.

Disbelief quickly turned into anger once she was able to grab a railing along the side of the wharf, keeping her out of the shark infested waters. The laughing that had followed her suddenly turned into worried shouts colored with concern but that still didn't cool her fiery ire.

No one was supposed to be laughing at her.

 _She_ wasn't supposed to be laughing at her.

" _You give her too much freedom,"_ her mother had mentioned offhandedly once or maybe a hundred times before. " _She doesn't know her place. The hierarchy of life. That she is untouchable_ _ **only**_ _because she is_ _ **yours**_ _."_

And Uma was Mal's, claimed from the very first time they met.

Mal swung herself silently back onto the wharf, just behind Uma's frantic form searching over the side of the wharf, ready to jump into the shark infested waters. When Uma's voice was tinged with worry, with fear, Mal preened at Uma's concern (" _For me. Only for me_ ," she thought.) before reaching out and tapping the teal haired girl on the shoulder.

The look of relief on Uma's face was addicting and on this wharf surrounded by the dregs of the Isle, Mal found it too precious to share with anyone else. So she poured a bucket of shrimp on her best friend and laughed at her as she had just been laughed at.

Fair is fair after all.

By the end of the day, everyone had heard of Uma's new nickname either through the spreading gossip or by the smell alone.

"Shrimpy," everyone, even Ursula, called her. Because "Uma" was something that Mal wanted to hoard all to herself, in name...and in person.

Uma was Mal's.

It was never said but everyone knew it.

A week after the incident at the wharf, Mal watched as the Gaston twins shoved Uma to the ground, doing it again when she tried to get up. They laughed as mud and other Isle filth covered the girl, mingling in with the shrimpy scent that still lingered. They taunted her with crude and horrible words, punctuated every so often with their fists.

"Seriously, Mal? _Again_?" Jay sighed from the wooden crate he sat on with a practiced tone of boredom, despite the tension in his body. He tossed a knife he had pocketed earlier off of one of Shan Yu's men into the air, catching it's hilt it with little effort. "Why let Dumb and Dumber mess with your claim?"

Mal rolled her eyes. She thought he would get it. That he would understand the need to keep what was his close and under control. After all, though he denied having anything to do with it, there was a reason why Cruella's sniveling little runt never got anything more than a little rough housing at school from anyone other than herself or Jay after the thief had seen a beating taken too far nearly kill the boy.

"Because she needs to be reminded of how things are run so she doesn't forget her place," Mal casually leaned against the crate. Somewhere deep inside her she purred that her Uma bit back each scream and groan she was inflicted.

"I still don't get it," Jay mumbled irritatedly. "Wasn't that the hole point of dumping shrimp on her? She's weak. Why not just move on and forget about her?"

She fumed. "You don't need to get it," Mal crossed her arms. If he didn't get it, then it wasn't her job to explain the rules of the game, the hierarchy of the Isle that was her birthright as Maleficent's heir, how a part deep deep within her craved both for Uma's affection and pain.

Jay let out frustrated sigh, glancing over as one of the Gaston twins, shoved the small teal hair girl into the side of the building, a loud crack heard even from their distance.

"They're going to break her," Jay tossed the knife deftly back and forth between his hands. A nervous tick, Mal noticed.

"Get rid of them," she ordered and for once, Jay didn't fight her. He merely hopped down from the crate on quick silent feet, scooped up several large pieces of rocks, and tossed them with easy aim at the twins. The two boy's thick necks swiveled towards his direction, scowling as he gave them a one finger salute.

Mal didn't even watch as Jay took off laughing as the Gaston twins forgot their prey, chasing after the quick footed thief and his taunts. Instead, she made her way towards what was hers until she was crouching in front of the crumbled semi-conscious form of her favorite plaything.

Uma's left eye and cheek was swollen and angry looking, her bottom lip split, and if the shallow breathing indicated anything, her ribs may have also been bruised as well.

Despite the beating, despite the taunts and cruel names, her dark brown eyes looked at Mal fiercely, never wavering.

"J-just...kill me."

"Don't worry," Mal said taking Uma's chin in her hand, her face softening. "That isn't what I want at all. You're mine after all. No one will take you from my side. No one," she promised just as the other girl fell unconscious.

 _ **IHOATF**_

"Do not give me that greedy little look of yours," Maleficent closed her eyes exasperatedly, pinching the bridge of her nose. She had to remind herself that her tadpole of a daughter was just a limo ride away from getting her off this damn Isle. She couldn't kill her...yet... "I have already told you, Mal. You cannot bring your little _pet_ with you to Auradon _._ "

"Then I guess I'm just not going."

The entire room went silent, and if it wasn't for the fact that there was no magic on the Isle, Mal would have sworn that the crack of thunder that shook the decrepit remains of the Bargain Castle was her mother's doing.

"Mal," her mother purred with so much sweetness in her voice that the hairs on the back of Mal's neck stood to attention at the hidden danger.

The Mistress of Darkness pushed herself from the makeshift throne she had regally sprawled herself on, sweeping across the room, all patch worked cloak and squeaking floor boards towards her only spawn. Mal held her breath, jaw clenched as her mother's twig like fingers grasped bruisingly her jaw. Jay, Evie, Carlos, and their parents were long gone, off to go pack and plunder and cause some last minute mischief before the royal limo arrived for them.

It was just Mal and her mother.

No one was there to witness the dark fairy's hand move from her daughter's jaw down to her neck with inhuman speed and strength. Mal choked, tears already beginning to burn against her glowing eyes, chipped black nails digging futilely into her mother's unrelenting grip.

"Now you listen up, naughty girl of mine," Maleficent smiled cruelly, bringing Mal close to her face. "Everything you have is because of me. You live because, at the moment, I wish it so." A pale bony finger traced down Mal's cheek, a poor counterfeit of affection. "Not one little tangled purple hair on your hornless head has been touched by the filthy vermin that scurry around this Isle because of _me._ "

Without warning, she dropped Mal with a push, turning around as if she couldn't bare the sight of the girl struggling to fill her lungs with air.

"I don't do it out of love, but as a reminder. Do not cross me, girl. There are worse things than death, and I am one of them."

Mal glared at her mother's back. Outlined by the dim light that managed to get through the dust coated windows, Maleficent looked like shadows breathed with life and the essence of all the nightmares that plagued Mal every nightmare.

(Scratch that. Her mother made her nightmares look like blissful dreams.)

"Bring your pet and its...toy," Maleficent finally conceded

Mal bit the inside of her cheek as she got up to her feet. Before the smirk could grow on her face and she could sneak out of the castle, Maleficent called out to her.

"Remember, heir of mine," she sighed over her shoulder, as if she found the task of talking to her own flesh and blood tedious and beneath her. "If you fail in getting me the wand, you are replaceable, as tiresome as that would be to cultivate a new heir." Her glowing green eyes connected with Mal's. "Don't forget that, my dear."

Mal's teeth ground against themselves but she didn't say anything else, knowing that she was dismissed. She slipped out of her mother's castle, tugging the collar of her jacket up high to hide blooming hand shaped bruise on her neck. Keeping to the shadows, she took alleys and cut through nearly abandoned buildings until the smell of rotten fish, rum, and seaweed hit her like a wall.

Ignoring the leering gazes of the drunken pirates, Mal plowed through anyone who was in her way as she stalked through the Isle's usual scowling crowd. She didn't even pause when she came to the entrance of a building that looked like it was one weak wind of being blown away. Instead, she pushed through the set of swinging doors. The rowdy noise of the shady establishment instantly silenced at her grand entrance. All eyes were on Mal.

The sounds of pans and canisters dropping on the floor along with Uma's curses and Gil's bumbling apologies were heard from the beyond the kitchen doors before the object of Mal's search came stomping out, scowl set deep on her lips as she tossed a tray of undoubtedly half rotten food in front of a customer.

Mal smirked internally when Uma freezed in her presence, catching the minute way the other girl seemed to shrink at the sight of the half-fae. Mal preened at her attention.

"Pack your things, Shrimpy. We're heading to Auradon to steal a wand." Her green eyes narrowed at Gil's much larger form standing dutifully as always behind Uma. "Your idiot too, I guess," she snorted before leaving, not even waiting for a response.

Uma would come. Afterall, she was Mal's. And no one would be able to take her from Mal's side. No one…

...except for a young sailor with eyes as deep as the sea.

 _ **IHOATF**_

"I hope you understand the difficult position recent circumstances have put us in."

Mal tilted her head to the side. Her face scrunched up in confusion as she looked at Fairy Godmother. "I-I don't understand, ma'am," she frowned, worrying her bottom lip.

Fairy Godmother cleared her throat. "I am referring to the disappearances of Uma and Gil and their apparent connection to Harry Jones's unfortunate magical induced visit to the school's infirmary. We have still yet to find them and have no way of knowing whether they've attempted to go back to the Isle or not. All we have to go on is the evidence from Harry's room when he was found and Prince Ben remembering you offering him a cookie," the headmistress said pulling out a plastic bag with a half eaten cookie in it. "A cookie that we found, upon further inspection, to be laced with a love potion."

"I- _We_ had nothing to do with that!" Mal exclaimed, leaning forward in her seat. "I mean- I mean…" she paused,hands covering her face before a choked sob escaped her lips as she brought her legs up to her chest. Her hands moved from her face to clutching her hair tightly in trembling fists.

Fairy Godmother gasped, startled by the girl's sudden tears.

"She was my best friend. Uma was my best friend and she...she... _lied_ to me!"

"Oh dear heart," Fairy Godmother got from her seat, moving around her desk to place a calming hand on Mal's shoulder. She was startled when Mal suddenly clutched onto her, sobs growing stronger. For a moment, the woman didn't know what to do, seconds seeming to drag before she put a hesitant but reassuring hand on top of the girl's purple head before her maternal instincts took over and began stroking Mal's head soothingly.

After a few moments, Mal's sobbing began to settle down a bit tas she clutched onto the older fairy's powder blue suit. "I had told Uma-," she sniffed. "I had told her that I thought Prince Ben was cute. I mean, he's so kind and-and _good_!" Mal laughed wetly, pulling away slightly to wipe at her nose with the back of her sleeve. "Ben's...so, so good. There's no one like him on the Isle. I couldn't help but fall for him. Uma saw that. S-she said I should make cookies and give them to Ben. That she would help. I-I get so f-flustered around Ben sometimes that she said it would be a good idea to have an icebreaker. We made the cookies together but I didn't know she put a love spell on them. I would _never_ do that to Prince Ben. Never. I want- I want to be good. I-"

"Shh-shh, dear heart," Fairy Godmother pulled a handkerchief from her pocket, wiping the remainder of Mal's tears. "Obviously Uma and Gil have deceived us all. I'm so sorry you had to go through something like that. To have put your trust in the wrong person."

Mal nods, giving the woman a shaky smile. "Thank you."

Fairy Godmother spent a few more minutes doting on the girl before letting her leave the office. Mal gives the woman a wave and a small smile as she leaves before turning back into the hallway where Evie, Jay, and Carlos are waiting for her.

Her smile melts away into a sneer once the doors are closed and it's only the four of them in the hall.

"Idiot old fairy," Mal spits before tossing Jay a used menthol stick that he had swiped from one of the theatre kids that had trouble crying on cue.

Mal didn't even look to see if the others were following her as she stomped through the halls of Auradon, hands twitching at her side, green sparks dancing dangerously at her fingertips at the thought of Uma and what she would do once she got her hands on her.

Her mother had been right. Uma had never understood the hierarchy of life and her place below even the very bottom in it.

But that was Mal's fault, she acknowledged. She had been too soft. Had bruised Ursula's spawn but never really broken her. It was a mistake that she would be sure to never make again.

After all, there are worse things than death, and Mal would make sure that for Uma and her little sailor, she would be one of them.

* * *

 _Hey everyone! Sorry that I haven't updated since October. It was a combination of being stuck and just having a lot of different stuff going on in my life. I'm honestly not 100% satisfied with this chapter but let me know what you all think in a review._

 _Until next time!_


	10. The Calm Before the Storm

_**Chapter 10: The Calm Before the Storm**_

 _ **EARLIER**_

Uma crossed, then uncrossed, her legs. Her foot began tapping a staccato beat as she watched Evie step back from Gil and admire her work in the moon's light.

Though Evie had assured her that Carlos had taken care of the cell's security system and that the apple turnovers laced with sleeping potion would keep the guards knocked out until well into the next day, that still didn't ease Uma's need to constantly look over her shoulder. When one was used to things going wrong, one couldn't help but fear glowing green eyes hiding around each corner ready to cause trouble.

Evie and Carlos had helped her this far, but Isle habits still made Uma's skin crawl with anxiety, waiting for either a setup or for them to finally demand a price for their help. Afterall, it had been only her and Gil for so long that she found it hard to trust anyone else. Nothing was free. Everything came with a price. That was the one thing her mother made sure she remembered.

Afterall, Evie was working her magic on their makeup disguises. Literally. If Uma was in her position, she would be charging by every brush stroke.

Despite applying several different products that Uma could never hope to keep track of, the Evil Queen's daughter had worked her magic with a makeup brush and fake hair making Gil look like himself...but also, not like himself. She glanced over at Gil once again but after a few seconds of staring she felt her eyes and thoughts begin to slide off Gil if she didn't force herself to focus on him. Uma knew that if she looked in a mirror the makeup Evie had done just a few minutes ago on her would have had a similar effect.

"Her magic is definitely less flashy than Mal's. It's like a notice-me-not spell or something," Carlos brought her attention to him. He stood awkwardly, fiddling with a loose thread of his jacket's sleeve. Despite his mother's obsession with dogs and constantly being referred to as "pup" amongst many of the Isle residents, Carlos reminded Uma more of a skittish and weary cat more than anything else. "T-that would be useful back home," he murmured so softly Uma almost didn't hear him.

Her hand reached up to twirl one of her braids thoughtfully around her finger. The motion stopped suddenly when she remembered she had hastily cut and taken her braids out, before twisting her much shorter hair into flat braids against her skull and pulling one of the theatre clubs stolen black wigs over it.

It was itchy and tight against her scalp and she wanted nothing more than to rip it off.

"Back home?" Uma scowled. "You sound like you're planning to make a trip back there," she commented before letting out a humorless chuckle. She quirked a brow as she leaned against one of the library's many tables. "What? Miss the moldy food and the constant risk of catching pneumonia or hypothermia already?"

Carlos ran a hand over the book spines on a nearby shelf, the corner of his lips tugged down thoughtfully. "Guess I'm just not that optimistic about this whole wand thing. That Mal or her mom won't try to cut out any competition once she's free. And who knows," he shrugged absentmindedly pulling out a book, flipping through the pages, "after the Coronation, the Isle may not be the worst place to be in once Auradon goes up in flames." He paused putting the book back. Then, he glanced over his shoulder at her, observing her silently as if weighing his options before saying, "Unless..."

Uma narrowed her eyes. "Unless what, De Vil?"

Nervous energy radiated off of him in almost palpable waves so Uma was slightly impressed when Carlos looked up at her, gaze steady. "Unless someone gives Mal a run for her money and stands up to her."

Pausing, Uma let his words sink in before she let out a short laugh of disbelief at his utterly ridiculous insinuation. 'He couldn't mean- That would be ridiculous!' she thought to herself before saying out loud, "Hm, right. You sure that Tourney helmet is actually protecting that big brain of yours when you get tackled? Because you must have some brain damage, De Vil, if you think that-

"I was there you know," Carlos cut her off, voice seeming loud in the quiet library. His cheeks and the top of his ears reddened but he continued. "When, um. When the shrimp thing happened..."

Uma stilled. It was like she could feel the cold slime of rotten shrimp sliding down the back of her shirt all over again. Her hand reached up once again to grab a braid that wasn't there, to check and see if there was any trace of the smell. Her shoulders hunched and Mal's ten year old laugh rang in her head.

It felt like drowning. Drowning when you didn't even know your head had been above water in the first place.

"Yeah? So? A whole bunch of people were there! Ya want a sticker for that or something?" Uma hissed, all defensive walls and a bruised heart as she stepped toe to toe with the boy. "If you want to satisfy that praise kink of yours find someone else, pup!"

Behind them, Uma sensed Gil taking a closer step towards her. Gil hadn't been there when Mal poured the bucket but he had been there for everything else - protecting her, patching her up, sitting with her and rambling about unimportant things in her darkest of moments until she could find the strength to cling onto his words with a tired attempt to mock him - and that alone made Uma hold her head up high, rage controlled but ready to crash down like a wave at any moment.

She didn't owe this pup anything.

Carlos's frame shook. The one person on the Isle whose life may have been worse than her own. Despite his obvious fear, his eyes never broke from hers.

"I saw you," Carlos firmly stated. "You laughed at Mal but…"

"BUT?" Uma demanded, her patience on its last string. She could feel the heat coming off of Gil from behind her and she knew her friend was giving his most intimidating glare. Carlos, however, must have taken some actual courage potion because he still didn't back down.

"But you came back for her!"

Uma baulked, taking an unconscious step back into Gil as if she had been slapped, not prepared for that response.

"When anyone else wouldn't have cared. You did. You tried to help her because you knew she couldn't swim. She was your friend and that was what friends do. They care."

Uma closed her eyes, the tense energy released from her in a breath until all she felt was tired. She pinched her brow. "Yeah," she sighed softly. "My stupidest mistake. More reason why I'm not- why I'm not...whatever you're trying to make me be."

"Why not?" Evie's voice caused Uma to spin around and face the girl. She had been unusually quiet, much different from her airheaded chatty persona she put on around Mal and the royals.

Honestly, if there was anyone right now that Uma felt weary of it was Evie. Mal she expected to be cruel. Jay she expected to do whatever was in his best interest. Carlos she expected to align himself with whoever would beat him up less. Evie...well, Uma can't imagine being exiled to stay in a rundown castle with the Evil Queen to have left anyone without some...resentment...

"You're cunning," Evie ticked off her fingers. "You're smart. And you're powerful."

Powerful? That was not a word that Uma would ever associate with herself, especially not on the Isle. But Uma prided herself on being able to figure out what others wanted and how to exploit that the best way she could. Evie had no tell though. She was being honest, a rare occurrence with Isle kids but that just meant the girl was delusional because Uma did _**not**_ have magic.

There had been that slight fluke when they had crossed the bridge from the Isle to Auradon in the limo weeks ago. It was like the ebb and flow of waves caressing her bones briefly in recognition before it sputtered out.

One could argue that she had felt her magic for the first time. Her magic which the Isle's barrier had muted for all of her life, leaving an inexplicable ache that she had never truly been aware of.

Days passed after crossing over into Auradon and Mal performed spells from her spellbook as easily as breathing. Evie was able to use her mother's mirror or stitch together the most heinous looking patterns into wearable art. Uma, however, had to resign herself to the fact that she didn't have any magic.

She couldn't make the small stream of water from the water fountain splash itself into Char Charming's face after he had called Gil stupid. The potions she brewed for the gullible royals and nobles were just a mix of herbal concoctions that at their best could help with their users indigestion and heartburn when consumed and at their worst were a slow and long acting laxative. They didn't give a person courage. They could not make someone fall in love or more beautiful. Uma was the daughter of the world's most feared sea witch. That lineage, as she quickly learned in her first week in Auradon, did not mean that Uma herself was a sea witch.

Uma was destined not for greatness. It made the idea that anyone could think that she could ever have a chance to go toe-to-toe with Mal laughable...and cruel. It made every time Harry declared her a goddess a painful chip against her heart.

"Uma," Evie stepped forward slowly. She took measured steps as if approaching a frightened animal ready to flee at any second. Once she was close enough, she took Uma's only slightly resistant hands in her surprisingly strong grip. "You may not see it but I do. What you've hid for years, even from yourself. But we," she nodded towards Carlos and Gil. "We see it. A storm that has been brewing and brewing for years."

Uma turned slightly to see both Gil and Carlos nodding affirmingly.

"And your sailor does too," Evie knowingly added with a prim chuckle.

" _He's not mine,"_ Uma wanted to reply back hotly but the memory of bright blue eyes filled with something...something that she wanted to hoard for herself caused her to pause.

Smiling gently, Evie leaned forward and kissed Uma on the cheek, squeezing her hands briefly before letting go and taking a step back.

"Whatever you decide to do, I don't think any of us would judge you after all that you've been through," Evie said as she began packing all of her things into her makeup bag before pulling out an envelope from seemingly out of nowhere.

"They're identification," Carlos clarified. "Passports and stuff that I made that'll help you cross over to the neutral kingdoms. No one should expect that they're not the real thing."

Uma stomach turned as she looked up from the envelope, looking back and forth between Evie and Carlos. Good fake IDs weren't cheap afterall. "What do I owe you then?"

Evie shrugged. "You may not believe this but we really don't have any ulterior motives. We..." she sighed, for once not looking like the prim and proper princess she was taught to be but just a girl who was just trying her best. "We just couldn't take how Mal was treating you anymore. No one deserves that."

Uma's frown deepened. So this was pity?

"And anything that makes Mal get all red in the face _and_ isn't directed at me is a win in my book," Carlos said attempting to sound too disinterested. "Plus I have a better idea of how lame their computer security is here after bursting Gil out. It's bound to come in handy at some point. So you're doing us a favor."

Uma nodded, afraid if she said anything she would mess things up. She put the envelope into one of the hastily packed bags she had made for herself and Gil before they broke him out.

"I'd advise you to keep moving until you hear the outcome of the Coronation," Evie instructed as she handed one of her bags to Carlos. "Whether or not Mal's plans for the wand work, someone will probably be after you as soon as they realize you're both gone. The makeup should last long enough, even if you wash your face, so you'll be unrecognizable," she explained confirming Uma's theory that the other girl had used some sort of magic to disguise them.

With that said, Evie spun on her heel before strutting out of the library, Carlos throwing a hasty wave over his shoulder as he followed her.

And then, it was just Uma and Gil.

Biting her lip, Uma turned towards the window that looked out over the forest surrounding Auradon Prep. Just a little way past the treelines, she could make out the hazy shape of the Isle, surrounded by gray clouds and smog. It had been her prison for crimes that she had never committed. It was that way for everyone born there. Running away had always felt like a dream until it was no longer a dream but reality…

Her hand unconsciously clasped around the shell necklace she had exchanged for her own along with her heart to a blue eyed sailor. She hadn't even said goodbye to Harry. He was really too good for her. At least he was awake now. He could go back to living his perfect life surrounded by his perfect friends and family. There was no place really for someone like Uma.

"Let's go," she murmured softly, quickly wiping away a stray tear that had fallen. They were wasting time. They needed to get as far away as possible.

"But-" Gil began.

"I said we're going!" Uma's voice grew hard before shoving one of their packed bags at him. Gil looked from the bag in his hands to his friends quickly retreating back before quickly catching up with her.

A day later, Uma pulled Gil's old jacket tighter around her for warmth. They were still too close to Auradon City to light a proper fire without being noticed.

Judging by the map that Carlos had printed off for them, they were about half a day ways from the Hundred Acre Woods that bordered Camelot and Sherwood Forest. Though Auadon as a whole had taken a step forward towards modern, non-magic advancement, that stretch of land was known for its prime camping scenery with its thick and lush greenery, totally untouched by electronic distractions. It wouldn't be strange for someone to build a small contained campfire without being questioned. Plus, they probably had better chances of surviving in general in the woods where Gil could be in his hunting element than they would be in a busy city where they could easily be recognized, despite the wigs they both wore and the fake beard that Evie had expertly applied to Gil's chin.

"Don't." Uma distractedly slapped Gil's hand away from his face where his fingers were itching to scratch at the fake patch of hair on his chin. He pouted momentarily, fiddling with his hands as he glanced around to distract himself from the itchiness.

They were in a small abandoned lighthouse on the coast, north-west of Auradon City. The soft crashing of waves filled the silence between them as Uma systematically took everything out of their packs to take inventory.

Anything to get her mind away from distracting thoughts.

"Evie and Carlos are super nice for helping us," Gil broke the silence just as Uma tossed him two granola bars. They had more than enough to last them for a few weeks if they rationed well.

"They aren't nice," Uma denied. "Probably just wanted to use us as a distraction for Mal so they can have her try at stabbing her in the back."

Gil scratched the back of his neck, frowning. "If you say so…" he said not sounding totally convinced before taking a bite out of his granola bar.

"I do!" Uma would have stumped her foot if she had been standing up. She pulled her knees to her chest, choosing to avoid his gaze. Instead, her eyes fell on something that was peeking out of the teal jacket that Evie had somehow managed to sneak into Uma's bag when she hadn't been looking.

Rolling onto her knees, Uma reached out for the jacket. She leaned back on her haunches as she pulled out the small square of paper that had caught her eye.

A photo.

It showed a dashing young man with perfectly messy dark hair standing close but not touching the young woman next to him. Though she instantly knew who the young man was, It took Uma longer than she would like to admit to recognize that the young woman, with her hand captured midair on its way to push aside an errant curl away from bright blue eyes, as herself even with the telltale teal braids. Harry's face wore a soft smirk as the fingers of one hand gently reached out for the hand at her side.

"You look different."

She looked over her shoulder to see that Gil had moved silently closer to see what she was holding.

"He was different," Uma answered truthfully. She took one last glance at the photo, memorizing the way she looked so...unlike herself. She paused, searching for the right word before she landed on it: happy. She looked completely and utterly happy in the fic.

"Uma?" Gil questioned after she hadn't moved or said anything for a few moments.

Blinking as if jolted from deep within her thoughts, Uma turned to Gil, her hand clutching the Never-shell necklace, a faint but steady warmth emitting from it.

"Why have you stayed with me this long, Gil?" she asked before she could even really think about the question or what answer would be easier to hear.

Tilting his head to the side as if she had just asked why he loved eggs, Gil responded slowly, unsure if he was answering right. Best friend or not, Uma had a temper when she got impatient with him sometimes.

"Because you're Uma," he finally settled on. He reached out and gently squeezed her fingers, giving an unsure but warm smile. "Because you're my best friend."

Uma choked back a sob at the simple admission. Her mind went back to an alley where this same boy offered easily his own pain to her just to make her feel better. The large calloused hands that held hers now had been the ones that had fumbled but worked diligently to patch her up every time Mal or anyone else on the Isle thought she needed a reminder of where she fell on the Isle's food chain.

Gil had kept her sane. Motivating her with bumbling but endearing words and acts of encouragement and loyalty that made every taunt, every encounter with Mal, every hazy dream tinged with jealousy and relief of a blue eyed boy surrounded by love just a bit more bearable.

If Harry was her anchor, grounding in a way that made her realize her life had always felt off kilter up until they had met, then Gil was her compass, pointing her back to herself. And when she really focused on herself, truly focused on her desires and not on the shackles of fear and humiliation that Mal had bound her with - that Uma had _allowed_ herself to be bound with - she felt something powerful stir inside her.

It was like a tsunami; how the tides pulled away from the shore, gathering and gathering into a wave that once it fell would be in escapable. Her blood hummed with electricity, lightning imbued. Uma felt like she was at the edge of something that she equally both couldn't name but welcomed, like wakefulness after a restful nap. Like a lost key that had finally been turned in a lock.

Magic thrummed lazily in the air and Uma could feel every branch and curl of it. She felt her own unconscious magic that tasted like sea salt, scuffed knees, and trust born out of loyalty and admiration that hung thick with age over Gil protectively like a blanket. She felt Evie's magic, surprisingly subtle, woven into each stitch of the teal jacket she still held in her hands, _strength, courage,_ and _cunning_ breathed into it.

And the necklace…

Tears welled up in her eyes as she held tightly onto the warm and softly humming Never-shell. The magic that wafted from it smelled like a sea breeze, mutual respect, gentle touches, and unhindered smiles with bright blue eyes.

Faith. Trust. And pixie dust.

The word "love" floated to mind and the necklace pulsed in acknowledgement, feelings reflected but not hers pouring through like a gate finally opened.

"Did I-did I not answer that right?" Gil frowned disappointedly, shoulders hunched when he saw her tears.

Uma closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. A smile filled simultaneously with lingering fear, uncertainty, and fondness played on her lips as she made up her mind, plans culminating into a long overdue storm, just as Evie had said..

Opening her eyes, Uma was going to respond when she noticed something else in the pocket of the teal jacket.

She laughed, the only response she could think of when she pulled out what she could only assume was a burner phone. When she opened the scream, she wasn't as surprised as she should have been when she saw the name of the only contact programmed into the phone.

Not even giving herself a moment to second guess herself, Uma pressed the contact number, bringing the phone up to her ear. It rang three times before it was finally answered.

" _Uma,"_ a certain voice said her name like a prayer. Like her name itself was worth more than gold or life itself.

It made Uma's heart flutter. " _This is love,"_ Uma thought, squeezing Gil's hand.

"Hey," she responded into the phone. "How do you feel about breaking some rules? For the greater good, of course," she tacked on winking at Gil who grinned back.

If Mal was going to eventually take her out, might as well give that purple lizard something to sweat about, right?

 _ **THE MORNING OF THE CORONATION**_

Ben always seemed to know when Harry's thoughts ran heavy even before Harry could hide them behind dashing smiles and his playful flirty nature.

Ben supposed that's why they had always been so close. The Prince had always been able to notice the chaotic storm that built within his friend when no one else noticed. When no one else understood. It was probably also because Ben had his own raging beast that bellowed, chained, within him that no one else noticed. That no one else understood…

Except Harry.

The prince and sailor noticed each other. Understood each other. They allowed each other to just...be without the shoulder breaking expectations of a soon to be king and his soon to be royal advisor. They saw each other and all their messy complexities and doubts and fears, a deep sense of trust and respect born out of years of being little boys thrown together with expectations and responsibilities that they could have never had comprehended at such a young age.

But now as young men, voices still deepening and uncertainty a familiar staple of their identity, they looked out the window of their once shared playroom within the gilded halls of Auradon Castle at the kingdom before them.

The roads leading up to the castle were quiet this early, just barely kissed by the sun's light. An hour or two more and they would hear Cogsworth shouting out orders to the maids and butlers and Lumiere singing in the halls doing a fantastic job of both helping his old friend and driving him one foot closer to the grave (or retirement as he always threatened). Mrs. Potts would undoubtedly walk into each of their old rooms, pushing the curtains aside to let in the morning light, moving across the room as wonderfully dizzying as a spinning teacup. She would mother-hen them into getting ready like they were still the rambunctious eight year olds, too tired to do anything other than let her fuss and cluck over them.

So many fond memories were embedded into the walls of this castle for these two young men, when their world seemed just as big as the two of them. A selfish part of Ben wanted to stop time, to extend the carefreeness of his childhood just a bit longer.

Finally, Ben broke the silence, his words seemingly all the more loud and weighty in the dawn. "In a few hours, everything will be different. Everything will change."

Harry glanced over at the prince, his soon-to-be king, and friend. His brother not in blood but in all the ways that mattered the most.

"You'll be High King," Harry nodded thoughtfully, a small smirk on his lips though his eyes held something much deeper. "Beasty King Junior," he ruffled Ben's hair teasingly.

Ben chuckled, shoving Harry slightly, letting his hair stay the messy nest Harry had created.

Putting a firm hand on the prince's shoulder, Harry's voice was firm and serious as he said, "You'll be High King Benjamin Maurice DeFlorian, Auradon's Just and Benevolent King."

Ben shrugged off Harry's hand only to almost knock them both over with a sudden and tight embrace. Harry didn't hesitate to return the hug just as tight once his balance was stable.

"I guess this is where I'm supposed to say how you'll be Royal Captain Harry Jones, Hand to the King and Lieutenant of the Royal Navy. My loyal advisor and friend," Ben murmured before pushing away slightly so they could see each other, brown eyes staring knowingly into blue. "But that won't be happening tomorrow...will it?"

Harry didn't even try to lie. But he didn't share the truth either. And he loved Ben for not making him tell. Instead, he merely said, "I know you'll be a king I'll be proud of." He swallowed the lump in his throat, the stinging in his eyes. "And I'll always consider you a friend."

They pulled apart, both of them committing this moment to memory, their companionable silence hanging over them like an unsaid good-bye.

 _ **RIGHT BEFORE THE**_ **CORONATION**

"I can't believe you _still_ do not understand how to tie a proper knot, Harry!"

Said boy couldn't help but let out a fond and amused huff of air as he stared down at the top of Audrey's perfectly styled and crowned head as she none too gently fixed his tie.

They could both hear the crowd cheering excitedly outside, waiting for their soon to be king to arrive at the Grand Hall of King Adam and Queen's Belle castle.

"Surprised you didn't take Ben up on his offer," Harry murmured just before choking as Audrey made his tie too tight.

"Oops," she said not even sounding remorseful at all when the boy let out a strangled sound when she tugged too tight. "And I'm a princess, Harry. It would look tasteless to ride with Ben in his coronation chariot after he broke up with me, instigated by a love spell or not. A princess takes pity from no one. I mean, can you imagine what people would have said?"

Harry rolled his eyes, keeping his thoughts on the matter to himself.

"Anyway, where is Calista Jane?" Audrey glanced around the room as if she half expected the half-pixie to appear out of nowhere and startle her with a prank of some sort like CJ was often prone to do when they were younger.

"Wasn't feeling well," Harry smoothly answered, looking at a spot right above Audrey's head. "Didn't help that old dad isn't showing up to this."

"Poor dear," Audrey said before her hands stilled, pretty face shifting into genuine concern. "And you? How are you holding up?"

Allowing himself to let out a long sigh, Harry could only shrug. "He takes his duty keeping the waters of Auradon safe very seriously. He's always been like that so didn't expect much of a change now."

Audrey looked like she wanted to say something but she remembered herself and what was expected of her, so she kept her thoughts about how poor of a father the naval leader was to herself. She took another few seconds to finish with his tie before taking a step back.

Harry waited silently, watching as she took in his outfit, from how his freshly pressed white dress shirt tucked into tailored black dress slacks and under a dark gold embroidered double breasted waistcoat. Audrey frowned as she adjusted the collar of his long red leather jacket before her previous downturned lips ("Because princesses don't scowl, Harry!") smoothed into a pleased expression.

"There you go," Audrey turned him towards the mirror. "A dashingly handsome young sailor."

"Yeah," Harry found himself swallowing thickly around the words. "Ye did well, lass."

It was a testament to apparently how well even Audrey knew him that she didn't pinch his hand for slipping back into the heavy brogue he had a habit of falling into when he was feeling a bit overwhelmed.

"No need to worry," Audrey placed a light hand on his arm. "You'll be a great second in command. And besides, everyone will be paying more attention to Ben than you. You just need to stand there and look pretty. Shouldn't be hard for you."

Harry looked down at her, taking in Audrey's pretty smile and soft features and the obvious care and concern she had for those close to her that she for some reason thought was important to hide behind a pretty and vapid mask. Though they had never been as close as he and Ben had been growing up, so many of his childhood memories contained Audrey at their side or somewhere nearby in the background. She was basically like a third sister: annoying, always driving him up the wall, but he would knock out anyone who dared hurt her. (Good thing Harry was under a sleeping curse and Ben had the excuse of being under a love spell when he crushed Audrey's heart.)

"Audrey…" Harry began.

Audrey didn't look up from the mirror as she fussed over invisible imperfections with her perfectly done hair. Typical Audrey, he thought fondly.

"What is it Harry?" she murmured applying a fresh coat of lip gloss.

"Nothing," Harry softly sighed, looking away. "You look beautiful."

Audrey merely rolled her eyes, giving herself one final once over in the mirror before the warning trumpets began to play, signaling Ben's arrival. "Of course, Harry. I'm a princess. Now we can't dilly dally for yours and Ben's big day. Move it mister! Today will be a day to be remembered!"

Harry nodded, offering Audrey his arm to guide her back to her parents before he took his position next to Ben's parents. Today would be a day to remember.

 _ **IN THE CORONATION HALL**_

Mal glared at Evie after the Evil Queen's daughter smacked her hand away from the delicate fabric of her dress's high neckline.

"Ah, ah, ah," Evie tsked, taking a moment to pluck some of Dude's hair from Carlos's coat and to tuck a loose strand of hair back into Jay's bun. "You'll ruin the lace."

"How about I ruin your face, princess?" Mal hissed before shoving pass some royals who had the misfortune of getting in her way.

Her patience was practically nonexistent at this point and Mal didn't care that everyone could see that.

With Auradon on high alert after Uma and Gil's jailbreak and escape (the exact how still under investigation since there was no sign of physical or magical forced entry), the remaining four VKs were under constant watch despite Mal's convincing performance with Fairy Godmother earlier that week. That meant that any attempt to try a repeat of the love spell on the Prince to try to get closer to the wand had to be thrown out the window leaving Mal shit out of luck.

Neither Jay, Carlos, or Evie pointed out the way that Mal's hands shook or how her eyes seemed to constantly be glowing with barely tethered control. It didn't help that Fairy Godmother had thought it would be "good" idea to set up a video chat with their parents the day before since Maleficent, Evil Queen, Cruella, and Jafar obviously couldn't make it to the complete and utter clusterfuck that was Family Day.

Yeah...a talk with her mother was exactly the confidence booster that Mal needed when even the Isle knew of Shrimpy's little jail break was such uber fun. (NOT!) Even Ursulla, who had also been there during the video chat had laughed in the background like some demented soundtrack of Mal's failure as Maleificent grew more and more angry with her only child.

There was no more time for mistakes. With determination as hot and unyielding as the fires of hell, Mal's eyes landed quickly on her prey.

"What's she doing?" she heard Carlos nervously whisper somewhere behind her as she continued to walk further, closer towards the part of the hall reserved specifically for all of the upper tier royals and several ass kissing sidekicks.

Jay must have said something in response to silence the runt but Mal didn't give it any thought.

Mal could not allow herself to fail again.

She reached her hand into the obnoxiously delicate looking handbag she had made Evie design, pulling out a sewing needle just as she came up behind the once again mousy looking plain Jane.

"That'll teach the sorry excuse for a fairy to bite the hand that magiced up flawless hair for her, Mal thought remembering the way that Jane and everyone else had looked down upon them after a series of escalating events during Family Day, starting with a wonderful family reunion with Queen Leah literally two minutes after Mal's and the other's arrival. Perhaps in another world, Mal would have been moved by Prince Ben's promise that he would make everyone understand that even Isle kids deserve a chance. But this was not that world and the Prince's blind faith merely made Mal want to barf all over him.

"Hey Jane!" Mal put on a poor attempt of a smile, the facade growing more twisted as Jane jumped, startled and fear palpable as she turned to see that it was Mal. However, evil was on a time crunch at the moment. "Just wanted to say, that after everything that happened," Mal said before sticking out her hand, "that there's no hard feelings."

Not for the first time, Mal wanted to laugh at the sheer stupidity of Auradon's citizens and their idiotic "forgiveness is good" policy as poor clueless plain Jane gave a shy smile before reaching out shake Mal's hand.

"Ouch!" and pulling back her hand to see where a small prick was made was all Jane could do before her eyes dulled and her expression slackened.

Mal smirked, Jane easily under her spell. Perhaps she could actually pull this off.

"So here's what I need you to do for me, Janey..."

* * *

Hello everyone! Apologies for taking so long! The scenes with our favorite sea witch just didn't want to get written so despite all the Harry scenes being done months ago, it took me awhile to channel Uma. Hopefully those scenes were decent enough for you all.

As always, thanks for the favorites, alerts, reviews, etc. They 100% motivate me.

One more chapter left, though please be patient with me. Grad school is about to get busy again and I'm not sure if I'll be able to publish the last chapter before D3 comes out.

As always, come say hi to my on Tumble (edream93).

Until next time!


	11. Rise

**Chapter 11: Rise**

It would be a lie to say that he had expected Mal to go down without a fight. Mal's stubbornness was as much of a fact as Jay's own sticky fingers.

Mal was like Lady Tremaine's grouchy old cat, Lucifer.

Grouchy. Standoffish. Untrusting.

A persistent little piece of shit with claws and fangs.

Even in the rare occasions that the odds were stacked against her, Mal wouldn't go down without a little hissing and a little scratching and a whole lot of hell for anyone who dared to get in her way to pay. Therefore, he knew that Mal had been scheming _before_ Harry had even been found unconscious, ever since Uma and Gil had ran off, and especially since Fairy Godmother's tone deaf attempt at trying to connect them with their parents via video call just before the disaster that was Family Day. (Forty thieves. Jay still felt bad for Evie and wanted to punch Chad Charming in his pretty boy face.)

What Jay hadn't expected was a glassy eyed Jane to grab her mother's wand, wrestling it out of the shocked woman's manicured hand just as Fairy Godmother was about to bless Ben and proclaim him the new King of Auradon.

Sparks of wild uncontrollable magic shot angrily from the wand and into the air, punching holes into the ceiling.

 _"This must be it,"_ Jay thought, instantly ushering Carlos and Evie through the stunned crowd to where Mal already stood, snatching the wand that Jane wordlessly handed her. A wide grin pulled at Mal's lips, at Jane's squeak of surprise as the spell broke.

"This is where I would say 'Thank you', isn't that right?" Mal chuckled briefly glancing over at Fairy Godmother who had pulled a fearful Jane protectively to her side, the crowd going from stunned silence to growing panic as Mal turned her attention to delicately caress the wand in her hands.

Finally. After months of laying low and kissing up to these heroes, they finally had the wand.

Jay was ecstatic.

Mostly...

Kinda...

Ugh, why did it feel like dread was settling into his stomach like heavy stones?

Maybe he shouldn't have eaten Dude's dog biscuits earlier. But he had unintentionally overslept so Jay missed breakfast and the last few nights he had spent tossing and turning, waiting for some ominous sign that the Auradon search team had found and imprisoned Uma and Gil. Or worst, the Mal had found the two.

But that sign never came and he mostly just wound up with a halfhearted pillow thrown vaguely in his direction by his pup of a roommate. (Let it be known that Carlos De Vil was even more uptight about his beauty sleep than even Evie was.)

Shoving his uncertainty away, Jay grabbed the back of Carlos's jacket when the crowd became difficult to move through, only glancing back briefly to make sure that Evie had grabbed onto Carlos's hand. He pushed against the crowd of princes and princesses and heroes that were already rushing in their fancy silks and skirts for the exits.

 _"This is it,"_ he kept telling himself, feeling his face twist into something that felt like a weak attempt at a grin as Mal made eye contact with him.

He opened his mouth to say something, but all the words seemed to struggle to come out, his silver tongue failing him.

An ominous cracking sound like glass shattering resounded from somewhere outside was the only herald of the Mistress's of Evil arrival.

Jay choked on the thick cloud of dark energy that surrounded the older fairy, the scent of brimstone and hellfire settled thickly in his lungs. His skin burned with the razor sharp sensation of being surrounded by too much concentrated magic, like millions of needles placed into his skin.

"I'm back!" Maleficent cackled, her once torn robes of the Isle now pristine and dark and oozing with evil, in a way that even the almost wax life model in the museum never quite captured.

And she was truly terrifying. (Jay hoped she didn't remember that one time he stole one of her horned hats for his father.)

"Where shall we begin?" Maleficent pondered, eyes filled with glee and venom.

Carlos squawked in fear hiding behind Jay, Evie gasped, and Jay bit his lip as they all watched Maleficent raise her scepter. It's green ominous glow highlighted her too wide grin and the room once again filled with gasps and screams of fear of the unlucky ones who hadn't escaped quick enough. The older generation remembered the dark fairy's days of cruelty and the younger generation remembered the bedtime stories their parents would tell them of this wicked sorceress. With a dramatic flourish of her scepter, a spell was casted that froze everyone in the room except for herself, Mal, Jay, Carlos, and Evie. Though Jay had to wonder if he, Carlos, and Evie not being frozen was mostly thanks to an oversight.

"I see a little bit of a firm hand motivated you to focus," Maleficent smirked at her daughter. And then her gaze was on Jay and it was like she was looking through him, breaking him down atom by atom until it felt like nothing remained of the insignificant little Isle street rat that he was. Like he was nothing, only granted to be in her presence because he was Mal's (for now at least).

Jay held his breath, fighting the urge to throw Carlos and Evie over his shoulders and run away. Thankfully, Maleficent turned away, her attention caught by something else. (Jay doubted that he could have actually gotten away if he made a run for it.)

"I think I nearly peed my pants," Carlos squeaked, his whole body shaking.

"I think," Evie began softly, her eyes never leaving the sorceresses back, "I think I get why mother didn't put up much of a fight when Maleficent exiled us to our castle."

Jay merely grunted in response.

Mal turned towards them, a delighted look on her face. She let out an excited squeal that was very unnerving. "It's happening!" she laughed, sounding slightly still in disbelief as she looked at the varying states of distress that were frozen on all the spelled guest as if she had stepped into a candy story. " _All_ of Auradon will be forced to kneel before _us_. _We'll_ be the ones in charge."

Jay clenched his jaw, unconsciously stepping further in front of Evie and Carlos. A part of him still didn't want to admit that it was very clear that Mal wasn't talking about the Rotten Four when she said "us" and "we".

Everything felt wrong. He didn't feel that expected thrill he thought he would feel at this moment. Just dread and fear.

"Hm...I recognize you."

Jay looked to see Maleficent circling the unmoving figures of Ben and Harry with predatory grace. Harry had been frozen, stepping defensively in front of Ben, a move that Jay had become somewhat familiar with during their time on the Tourney team. A determined frown was frozen on his place, one hand on the hilt of a sword that had been concealed under his red leather jacket's long length while the other hand was outstretched to the side to hold back Ben, concern frozen on the new king's soft features.

But it wasn't the boy king that had caught Maleficent's attention, though she did briefly tip over his crown. No. The Mistress's of Evil attention was fully on Harry.

"Ah yes! I do know that ratty old red jacket well. You wouldn't happen to be the son of Hook and the Chosen Knight, would you?"

Maleficent reached out, a bruising grip on

Harry's chin as she turned his face stiffly on his neck, inspecting it. A cruel smile crept onto her lips. "You are!" she cooed. "Oh how perfect this is! Mal! Look!" she called towards her daughter, eyes never leaving Harry's. "Did I ever tell you the story of how I lost my wings?"

Caught off guard by the taboo topic, Mal's brow wrinkled. She shifted anxiously on her feet, hand idly playing with the wand in a way that Jay recognized the uncertainty in her stance. After all, no one, unless they had a death wish, mentioned Maleficent's wings. "Well y-"

Maleficent cut her off as if Mal hadn't even spoken.

"I'd bet you'd like to hear it, wouldn't you, dear?" she directed towards Harry. "Of course you would. I bet you _love_ hearing stories about your heroic parents."

The grip that Jay still maintained on Carlos's jacket tightened further, as if he was the one being scrutinized by the most fearsome villain in history. He was only vaguely aware that Carlos had managed to slip out jacket, taking quiet steps backwards as Jay stood rooted to the spot. He wouldn't blame the pup if he tried to take off running. Maleficent prowling around Harry was like a predator sizing up her prey.

"Your mother did it of course," Maleficent addressed Harry casual, as if discussing the weather. "Came right up behind me in my own domain and sliced through my wings with an iron blade, leaving twisted and gnarled things to grow in their shadow. Did your daddy ever tell you that?" she asked conversationally. "About how it had been a nearly impossible task given to your mother just because of how impossible it should have been? How your father had hoped she would get the message that he wasn't interested in a nameless orphan born that talked of worlds and people that didn't exist but spoke so clearly to her in her dreams? About how in one life, in another world, they were each other's true love."

Maleficent paused staring into his eyes.

"Ah," she sighed, feigning sadness. "They didn't. Oh you poor dear! And you have the dreams too, just like her." She tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. "Dreams that will slowly drag you into madness. Just like they did with her. The joy of being magically intolerant. Too much magic and your bound to lose your mind."

He couldn't respond, but Jay could feel the waves of anger and rage that rolled off of Harry.

"Where was I dear?" she turned dramatically towards Mal, snapping her fingers before Mal could even open her mouth.

The dog biscuits in Jay's stomach felt like lead, watching the twisted motherly expression on Maleficent's face.

"Oh that's right. After my wings were taken, I escaped but not without the greatest lost of my life," Maleficent continued as if she had never stopped her story, long held mourning in her stance as she briefly stared off to the side, "my beautiful, strong wings...Everything seemed to all go to hell. Perhaps that's why that damn Sleeping Beauty's prince was able to defeat me with the help of those scatterbrained pixies," Maleficent's eyes sparkled dangerously with barely contained rage as she faced him again. The smile that stretched her lips oozed with vengeance and promise of the worst kind of pain beyond imagine. "That day I made a promise to myself that if I could - if the opportunity should ever present itself in front of me - I would _grab it_ and repay the Knighted Savior tenfold the pain she caused me. Sad how she's not here to take the repayment," she sighed, as if she were truly saddened, raising her scepter up towards Harry, its glow menacing. "I suppose you'll just have to do."

Of course Jay had known, to some extent what releasing the villains, what releasing Maleficent from the Isle, meant. He wasn't innocent. None of them were. His hands were stained with blood from having to survive on the Isle but he always imagined the Auradonians would be fighting back. That though the villains would win in the end, it would be a fair fight, or at least fair in the sense that the Auradon folks would at least try to fight back.

He didn't imagine...this

Jay's traitorous stomach twisted again and he could no longer pretend to ignore how wrong this all felt as the shadow of the glow of the evil fairy's scepter covered the room in an eerie green glow as it prepared to fire off a spell at its holder's command.

And then an arrow whizzed through the air.

Maleficent spun and used her scepter to deflect it off its straight course towards her. The arrow embedded itself barely a breath away from the Queen Leah's foot, the frozen queen's eyes widened just a fraction to indicate that she was aware enough of what was going on.

" _You_ ," Maleficent spat as her gaze fell onto the youngest son of Gaston. Gil raised his crossbow again, arrow loaded and aimed at her. "I thought I smelled vermin."

"What the forty thieves?" Jay found himself swearing under his breath. Gil wasn't supposed to be here! He was supposed to be wherever with Uma, hiding for as long as possible from Mal and her obsession. Jay hadn't distracted Mal during the jailbreak just for them to come back and step right in the dragons' den!

Were they idiots? Did they want to die?

" _You_!" Mal shoved past Jay, eyes frantically searching to see behind Gil. When she didn't see what she wanted, her eyes glowed. Her hands, human shaped but unnaturally claw like, shook at her sides. "Where. Is. Uma?"

"Uh, I don't think I'm supposed to say," Gil frowned honestly though his crossbow never lowered from where it was aimed at Maleficent.

Maleficent rolled her eyes. She flicked her wrist, an invisible force ripping the crossbow out of the startled boy's hand and crashing above some still frozen royals' heads.

"Really?" the sorceress snorted unimpressed. "I knew you Gaston boys were bullheaded but even your father knew when to step down in my presence." The long sleeves of her robes brushed against the floor as she curled her fingers towards her.

Gil let out a yelp as he was dragged down the hall by an invisible force. He let out a slight yelp when he stopped suddenly in front of Maleficent.

"Now, where's Ursula's unfortunate daughter?" Maleficent growled. "What does she have planned?"

"Ye know, I think the question ye should be asking is what do I have planned?"

Gil was dropped to the ground as Maleficent spun, using her scepter to block the swift swipe of a sword being wielded by one very moving Harry.

"HOW!?" Maleficent fumed. Jay wanted to know that answer too.

Harry didn't respond but Jay could see, could _feel_ Uma's shelled necklace glowing steadily with golden magic that rolled off it like soothing waves. A cool balm washing over and cleansing Maleficent's needle prickly magic.

Maleficent must have also realized the shell's effects because her frown turned murderous, the shadows near her turning dark and threatening like black flames.

"Ursula's necklace. She was a fool for giving her little beast something so powerful! Should have killed that fishy welp a long time ago," she hissed preparing to push back and strike at the boy.

With her and Mal's and Jay's attention on Harry, only Carlos and Evie noticed a small ball of light fly into the room, dropping a shield blessed with fairy magic from three particular fairies that matched Harry's sword into Gil's hands. Gil gave a bright "Thanks!" before the small ball of light flew back out one of the windows that Carlos not so coincidentally stood by. (It hadn't been opened earlier and could only be opened from the inside…)

Even if Jay had been paying attention, there was no way he could ever describe the look of complete and utter shock on Maleficent's face with any justice as Harry grunted, pushing with all his strength, and perhaps a little aid from the still glowing shell necklace, until Maleficent lost her balance and fell backwards. She flipped gracelessly over Gil who had been waiting behind her, newly acquired shield strapped to his arm.

Jay felt Mal violently tense next to him as Maleficent fell to the ground. Before she could reach for her dropped scepter, just out of reach, or before Mal could come to her senses, the sharp tip of the sword was pressed against Maleficent's throat.

"Well, you may take after your father in looks," the old fae growled up at him, "but you're _exactly_ like your mother."

"I'll take that as a compliment. I hope you like the poetic-ness of using these specific weapons," Harry grinned tilting his head in a mocking manner as Gil stepped next to him, shield raised. "Gilly-boy here went through all the trouble of getting the same shield and sword that put you six feet under the first time. Just for you."

An inhuman hissed escaped Maleficent's lips.

"Don't worry," Gil spoke up with a pleased grin. "It wasn't that hard with the museum only having the one guard and all." He paused thoughtfully before looking to gaze over at gawking Mal. "I think that sleeping spell you cast on him when we were there before gave him heartburn though. It's been making it hard for him to sleep."

He paused, frown deepening further in thought.

"Or that's what I think he said. I had to tie him up because he kept wanting to play this game where he tried to stop me from taking the sword and shield. Wow, being a museum guard seems pretty cool!" He grinned at Harry who couldn't help but chuckle.

"Aye perhaps," Harry nodded, sword still pointed at Maleficent. "But a life on the waves is more for me."

"Oh!" Gil grinned with excitement. "Wait until you see the sh-"

"ENOUGH!" Mal screamed, sending sparks of angry magic at Harry and Gil. Both boys dodged out of the way but the banners behind them burned quickly in flames. "Where is Uma? WHERE IS SHE!?"

Whether Harry or Gil had a response, Jay wouldn't know. In one moment's time, Maleficent was engulfed by dark green smoke, reemerging as a large deadly dragon with smoke and hellfire escaping her giant snout. The two boys scrambled out of the way as the dragon roared before she huffed a large fireball at them.

The ball of flames narrowly missed where Audrey, Chad, and Lonnie stood frozen in various stages of shock. A single flame did attempt to catch the prince's jacket on fire. Jay distractedly wondered if it would necessarily be so bad if all of Chad's clothing went on fire but just as quickly as the fire began to grow the fire alarm and sprinklers went off.

"NO! My makeup! My hair!" Evie moaned, pulling Carlos's discarded blazer out from Jay's hands and covering her head with it.

"Shut up!" Mal hissed pushing wet bangs from her face, eyes searching through the spray frantically. Jay didn't have to ask to know that she was looking for any sign of teal. "If you're going to be useless then just get out of my way, princess." She let out a curse as she gathered the inhibiting layers of her dress, stomping forward through quickly growing puddles to aid her mother.

Cries of horror and fear returned to the room, like someone had unpaused and unmuted the world around them as the once frozen bystanders gained movement once again, rushing towards the exits. Guards immediately swarmed around King Adam, Queen Belle, Fairy Godmother, and Jane, moving them towards a side exit.

" _Enchanted lake water_ ," the menacing dragon's voice echoed throughout the hall, water running down dark purple and black scales.

"It's Uma!" Mal shouted, frustration growing every time she had to push her wet hair away from her face.

Maleficent roared. " _Find her!"_

Jay stood in the middle of it, slightly stunned and for once lacking his usual confidence as things seemed to spiral around him. A hand gripped his arm tightly, turning him around. He turned to see Evie, all worries about her water drenched hair and running makeup (though she still managed to look the "fairest of them all" even when disheveled) absent as she gave him an indescribable look from beneath the cover of Carlos's blazer.

Jay felt like he was at the edge of something.

"Are you with us?" was all Evie said, voice firm. Waiting. Expectant.

A crossroad.

Pick left or right.

Choose a side.

Villain or hero.

(A memory of the smell of shrimp mixed with tears, expecting green eyes, and guilt that hurt worse than any hunger pains on the Isle.)

"Wh-what? Us?" he forced a laugh out of his mouth. Jay shook his head, reaching up to play with his beanie only to remember his hair was pulled up into a tight bun that Evie had done herself only hours earlier. (That felt like days ago.) "What are you talking about? Mal has the wand."

Evie didn't say anything but continued to stare at him expectantly. Jay glanced over at Carlos. The smaller boy was standing behind Evie and despite the way his frame seemed to shake, his eyes never left Jay's as he watched the thief look from the remote like device Carlos was clutching in his hands up to the sprinklers that were still raining down magic lake water.

"I'm tired of being afraid of my mom," Carlos explained with a sad smile. "This...this may not work but…" he trailed off, shrugging with a small smile at Jay's shocked expression. "Gotta try."

So many things ran through his Jay's head. He wanted to pause everything and just run. Run away from Mal and her twisted obsession. Run away from his father and his expectations. Run until the energy that crackled under his skin burned him out until nothing was left. Run away from the question that seemed to take up all of the space in his mind: Could he live with what was to happen next?

Across the room, Harry narrowly rolled out of the way of long breath of dragon fire.

He gripped his sword, thrumming with fairy magic in his hand. It gave him a slight migraine but his movements were sharper and more wild. The sword was also slightly heavier than he was used to, but he had figured a dragon would be involved in some way (though admittedly he thought said dragon would be more Mal shaped than actual dragon) and what better way to fight a fae-dragon than with the same sword and shield that had initially slayed one?

But the shell necklace around his neck continued to steadily thrum, a tethering weight around his neck, pulling his thoughts back with a gentle but firm tug when they threatened to grow too chaotic. Keeping him focused. Keeping him anchored.

"Harry!"

He was suddenly tackled to the floor, said dragon slaying sword clattering several yards across the wet floor. The weight on his back quickly moved, pulling him to his feet.

Ben.

Oh Davey Jones.

"What are you still doing here?" Harry hissed, eyes already searching for a way out for the new king, his oldest friend, his brother in everything that mattered.

"Maybe we can talk to them," Ben said with that damn spark of hopefulness and goodness in his eyes that Harry knew most of the people in this kingdom couldn't even fake. "To Mal and her mother. If we could just get them to listen, things can be different this time and-" the rest of Ben's sentence was cut off, muffled noises coming from sealed lips. He also noticed that the sprinklers were smoldering and melted, the water no longer able to spray out.

"Evil, he never shuts up does he?"

Gil, who had just seconds ago been trying to distract Maleficent was tossed towards Harry and Ben. All three boys were knocked to the ground into an awkward pile of wet limbs. Mal stood over them, her hair wild and untamed and thick streaks of makeup ran down her face in a truly terrifying way as if all of it decided to just melt off. (And perhaps it did if the steam that rolled off her shoulders was any indication.)

"Now that I have your attention," she grounded out, wand pointed dangerously at Ben, sparks of green threatening to jump from its tip. "Tell me where that little shrimp is."

"Not telling ye, anything,"

Mal frowned. "Your death wish th-". Mal abruptly stopped and Maleficent growled above them.

"Drop the wand, Mal."

The half fae slowly turned, careful of the sword that was now pointing at her heart, glare deepening as angry glowing green eyes fell on Jay.

"Trying to play a knight now, Jay? Got tired of being a little street rat?"

"Just got tired of not even knowing if I could trust the person I was supposed to be following."

Mal's jaw dropped before quickly turning into a scowl. "I knew you were weak. Always looking for validation. From me. From your dad. From the stupid little team of princelings that you've joined. You've always needed someone to validate you Jay. To tell you that you're valuable and precious," she said with a mocking pout. "But you know what?" she snapped, ignoring the warning growl Maleficent directed towards her. "I bet you can't even do it. I bet you can't even slay the big bad dragons. That you aren't _good_ enough."

Harry watched cautiously as Jay shrugged. The thief had always been a wild card for this plan but Evie and Carlos stood behind Jay and that was enough to tell Harry which side this wild card of a boy had finally fallen on.

"You're right. I'm not good enough," he lowered the sword. Mal smirked smugly reaching for the sword. "But maybe she is." And then Jay threw the sword into the air.

Everything seemed to move slowly and yet all at once. A scene that had been building up for years finally coming into play.

Jay tackled Mal to the ground, the wand flying from her hand. Carlos used Jay's back as leverage to jump into the air and catch the wand. He landed, feet slipping on the wet floor but Ben and Evie quickly helped him to his feet and off to the side.

Meanwhile, Maleficent quickly gained her bearings and seemingly without even a thought for her own daughter, breathed fire at them. Jay rolled Mal just barely out of the line of fire but Gil stepped in front of Harry, shield raised.

Gil grunted under the unrelenting force as Maleficent continued to breath fire, against the shield. But he kept his hold steady as Harry pressed his back against his, zipping up his jacket all the way up.

Seven seas, he hoped this worked.

"Now!" Evie shouted. She stepped forward, her magic mirror shining a blinding light into Maleficent's eyes. The fire stopped as the dragon floundered back with a screeching yell.

Harry felt his heart skip a beat. _Now_ he thought, stomach fluttering with anticipation as he and Gil, with the skill only acquired when two people are desperate enough to do something crazy, spun and dropped to their knees so that Harry faced the dragon.

Blinking through the temporary blindness, Harry saw Maleficent prepare to spit another lung full of flames at him, wicked glee in her reptilian eyes. He hoped the stories of his mother's jacket being dragon fire-proof were true...

The sea shell necklace around his neck thrummed with power and instead of focusing on Maleficent, he looked towards the puddles on the ground.

To an inattentive eye, it just looked like the puddles were shaking due to the vibrations caused by the fight. Anyone else would have missed the way that small droplets of water floated up from the floor's puddles, hovering for a moment just above the ground. Harry was sure that if he squinted hard enough, he could see a reflection of grinning lips that he desperately wanted to reacquaint himself with.

The water droplets then shot up high into the air, merging together in long tentacle like tendrils that reached up and dragged Maleficent down. The dark sorceress fought against her watery bonds but she was forced to push her large body against the floor, pinned.

Maleficent roared. Maleficent fought but the water hardened, forming ice bonds. Most of the dragon was pinned down but she was able to raise her head just enough to see a large collection of water drops merge together, forming a humanoid shape that solidified into a familiar teal clad sea witch's daughter, using a combo of the Gil's propped and angled shield and his own strength as a jumping board.

Excess golden pixie dust surrounded her in an ethereal glow and the sword that Jay had thrown into the air now in her hands, Harry was certain that he would never see a more beautiful sight.

"Uma," he said, half encouragement, half praise, and all devotion tied all together in just one word.

"NO! MOTHER!" Mal screamed from where Jay was restraining her against the ground but it was too late.

The world seemed to stop breathing.

All eyes on Uma and the sword raised above her head.

And then...there was a crash like thunder and waves against the rocks, and then…

And then Maleficent was no more.

* * *

First off, thank you all for being so patient with me. Grad school takes a lot of time and energy out of me so fanfic writing has been slow. Plus this chapter just didn't want to be written at first and then when I did start writing it I wasn't really happy with it. Still not 100% happy (what I get for not fleshing out this story at the beginning) but I it would have just collected dust on my computer if I didn't just send it out.

Second, this is NOT the last chapter as I had intended though the next chapter should hopefully be the last one.

Thanks for the support via reviews, favorites, alerts, etc. I truly appreciate them. As always, you can find me on Tumblr at edream93.

Until next time!


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